Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Bought by Martingale Asset Management L P

Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,596 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 1,412 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock traded up $1.76 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $274.42. The stock had a trading volume of 207,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 398,100. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.90 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $293.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $292.02. The stock has a market cap of $17.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.78, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. 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 yield of 3.75%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % 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. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. 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 note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays reduced their target price on Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $303.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.11.

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.