Vestcor Inc Purchases 7,133 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Vestcor Inc lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 588.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,346 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 7,133 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth $721,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at about $1,004,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.3% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 237,217 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $70,079,000 after acquiring an additional 9,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 162.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 74,841 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $22,109,000 after purchasing an additional 46,354 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $2,298,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Remove Ads

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:ESS traded up $0.53 on Wednesday, reaching $299.43. 354,624 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 358,266. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $290.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $294.58. The company has a market capitalization of $19.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.90 and a 12 month high of $317.73. 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 (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on ESS shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.16.

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.