3,564 Shares in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Bought by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,564 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,017,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $471,258,000. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1,620.1% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 197,436 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $55,835,000 after purchasing an additional 185,958 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,443,000 after purchasing an additional 150,927 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $36,450,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $35,701,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. Company insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $303.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of 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 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.11.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $276.60 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $290.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.28. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $239.37 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is 89.08%.

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.

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