Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Buys 1,381 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 41.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,684 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 1,381 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in 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 last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in 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 worth $64,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS traded up $3.47 on Friday, hitting $275.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 361,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,435. 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 one year low of $234.77 and a one year high of $317.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $291.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $291.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. Research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ESS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $303.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.11.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated 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 $527,904. The trade was a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. 3.46% of the stock is currently 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.