Korea Investment CORP Increases Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Korea Investment CORP grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 156.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,598 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 36,382 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.09% of Essex Property Trust worth $17,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS traded down $9.41 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $297.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 99,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 462,167. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $295.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.62. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $230.90 and a one year high of $317.73.

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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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $1,988,843.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,654 shares in the company, valued at $2,724,192.66. The trade was a 42.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 in the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on ESS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.16.

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.