Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 24,617 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $7,027,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,652 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,324,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 3,069 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $876,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,703,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 772,883 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $220,612,000 after purchasing an additional 18,704 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded down $1.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $304.69. The stock had a trading volume of 287,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 469,738. The company has a market cap of $19.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a PEG 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's 50-day simple moving average is $293.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $294.69. 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ESS shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial raised their price target 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.16.

About Essex Property Trust

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.