LPL Financial LLC Raises Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,382 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 3,537 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.05% of Essex Property Trust worth $9,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,072 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $508,381,000 after buying an additional 25,591 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,494,298 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $426,532,000 after acquiring an additional 70,785 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 772,883 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $220,612,000 after acquiring an additional 18,704 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 607,775 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $173,475,000 after purchasing an additional 36,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 368,855 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $105,286,000 after purchasing an additional 43,847 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ESS. Evercore ISI lifted 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.16.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other news, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $1,988,843.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 8,654 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at $4,303,393.38. This trade represents a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock traded up $17.69 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $272.34. 892,548 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 396,044. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.90 and a fifty-two week 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $294.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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, equities analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 89.08%.

About Essex Property Trust

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.