Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys New Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 41,013 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $11,675,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.06% of Essex Property Trust at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $471,258,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1,620.1% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 197,436 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $55,835,000 after purchasing an additional 185,958 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 201.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,443,000 after purchasing an additional 150,927 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,450,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,494,298 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $426,532,000 after buying an additional 70,785 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS traded down $2.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $260.22. 146,571 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 396,298. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.90 and a 52 week high of $317.73. The company's 50 day moving average price is $293.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $292.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. 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. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on ESS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.16.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 90 days, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

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.