Polymer Capital Management US LLC Invests $709,000 in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,483 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $709,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Assetmark Inc. grew 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 valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,675 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,334,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $7,027,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth $541,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $263.17. 552,261 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 397,942. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $293.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.90 and a 52 week high of $317.73.

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Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. Sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ESS shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.11.

Insider Activity

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $527,904. The trade was 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 worth $6,682,539. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

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.