Employees Retirement System of Texas Purchases 21,700 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 112.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 21,700 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned 0.06% of Essex Property Trust worth $11,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,353,157 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,955,205,000 after purchasing an additional 61,645 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,758,174 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $500,688,000 after buying an additional 32,102 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $471,258,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,494,298 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $426,532,000 after buying an additional 70,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 772,883 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $220,612,000 after acquiring an additional 18,704 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE ESS traded up $0.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $263.17. The company had a trading volume of 552,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 397,942. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.90 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $16.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company's fifty day moving average price is $293.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $292.19.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. As a group, research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors 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 3.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on ESS shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.11.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $1,988,843.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,724,192.66. This trade represents a 42.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 16,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

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.