Achmea Investment Management B.V. Buys 9,354 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 78.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,352 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 9,354 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V.'s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $6,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ESS shares. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Truist Financial increased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.16.

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Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,552,585.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. This trade represents a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17 % 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 quarter. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS traded up $5.62 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $300.63. 403,812 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 357,986. The company has a market capitalization of $19.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.05, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $290.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $294.60. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $230.90 and a one year high of $317.73.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is 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 (DPR) 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.