Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 61,645 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,353,157 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 61,645 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 16.11% of Essex Property Trust worth $2,955,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 32,382 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,243,000 after purchasing an additional 3,537 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 3,007 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $858,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,654,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 368,855 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $105,286,000 after buying an additional 43,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,739,000 after buying an additional 1,927 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $527,904. The trade was a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESS traded up $0.99 on Friday, hitting $305.79. 288,731 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 385,138. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The business's fifty day moving average is $294.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.61. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.90 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share 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, equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.16.

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.