Loudon Investment Management LLC Has $3.98 Million Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Loudon Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,952 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,550 shares during the quarter. Essex Property Trust comprises approximately 2.3% of Loudon Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Loudon Investment Management LLC's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $212,583,000 after buying an additional 633,200 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 154.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 444,391 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $131,282,000 after purchasing an additional 269,923 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $392,766,000 after purchasing an additional 183,947 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,443,000 after purchasing an additional 150,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $24,823,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the company'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. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $527,904. The trade was a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 in the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE:ESS traded down $1.85 on Tuesday, hitting $303.37. The company had a trading volume of 376,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 360,696. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $292.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $294.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a PEG 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. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.90 and a 52 week high of $317.73.

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

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on ESS shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.