APG Asset Management N.V. Acquires 35,000 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

APG Asset Management N.V. grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 104.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,500 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. owned 0.11% of Essex Property Trust worth $18,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of ESS stock traded up $1.76 on Tuesday, reaching $274.42. 207,470 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 398,100. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $293.00 and a 200-day moving average of $292.02. The company has a market cap of $17.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. Analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 89.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on ESS shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho cut 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.11.

Essex Property Trust 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.