Natixis Increases Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Natixis increased its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 108.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,914 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 12,956 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $7,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% in the fourth 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 period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ESS. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI raised their target price 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $303.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.11.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE ESS traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $276.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 360,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 401,296. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $240.58 and a 1 year 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 company has a market capitalization of $17.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $290.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.18.

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

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This is an increase 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 3.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,724,192.66. This trade represents a 42.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. 3.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.