XTX Topco Ltd Acquires 5,463 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 220.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,945 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 5,463 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $471,258,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 1,620.1% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 197,436 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $55,835,000 after acquiring an additional 185,958 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,443,000 after acquiring an additional 150,927 shares during 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, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 733,204 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $209,286,000 after purchasing an additional 123,698 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on ESS shares. 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $303.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.11.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS stock traded up $3.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $275.37. 361,647 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 402,435. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $234.77 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $291.51.

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, 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%. On average, 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. This represents a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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. Insiders sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.46% 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.