Schroder Investment Management Group Acquires 185,958 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 1,620.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 197,436 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 185,958 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned 0.31% of Essex Property Trust worth $55,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 74.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,187,000 after buying an additional 1,719 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $236,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.3% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 45,899 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $13,559,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 17.9% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,086 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 25.0% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,238 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 2,247 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial increased their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho dropped 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.16.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Essex Property Trust stock traded down $22.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $271.80. 686,508 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 391,375. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.90 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The business's 50-day moving average is $296.16 and its 200-day moving average 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.08%.

Insider Activity

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $527,904. The trade was a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.80% 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.