Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich decreased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 83.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 275 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,380 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $86,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Andra AP fonden raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 61,400 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $17,526,000 after purchasing an additional 9,200 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,027,000. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,652 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,324,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 3,069 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $876,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $16,703,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on ESS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho dropped their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.16.

Remove Ads

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:ESS opened at $295.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.90 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The stock's 50-day moving average is $289.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.66. The stock has a market cap of $19.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company 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 $2.57 dividend. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,545 shares of company stock valued at $5,840,299. 3.80% 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ESS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.