Mizuho Securities USA LLC Grows Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 46.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,091 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 1,927 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,675 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,334,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 19,656 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,611,000 after buying an additional 986 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $541,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 15,527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,516 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 in the last three months. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of ESS traded up $0.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $305.79. 288,731 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 385,138. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $294.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $294.71. The stock has a market cap of $19.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.90 and a twelve month 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.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted 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, analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on ESS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.