New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 23,731 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $6,774,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock traded down $1.37 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $305.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 87,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 384,700. The company has a market capitalization of $19.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.90 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $294.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $294.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ESS. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.16.

Insider Activity

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $527,904. The trade was a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. This represents a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 over the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc, an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.