Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Stock Holdings Increased by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 77,154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 1,820 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.12% of Essex Property Trust worth $22,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 232,714 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $66,426,000 after purchasing an additional 9,503 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $6,774,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $471,258,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 25,995 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,420,000 after buying an additional 1,627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 161,099 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $45,792,000 after buying an additional 5,301 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

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Essex Property Trust Stock Down 7.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded down $22.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $271.80. The company had a trading volume of 686,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 391,375. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $296.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $294.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $230.90 and a one year high of $317.73.

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 earnings per share 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%. Equities research 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 announced 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 is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ESS. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho cut their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.16.

Insider Activity

In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total transaction of $1,552,585.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.