Yoffe Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 2,314 Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Yoffe Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,314 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $661,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $471,258,000. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 185,958 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised 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 valued at $64,443,000 after buying an additional 150,927 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth $36,450,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 70,785 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS stock traded down $4.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $249.92. 187,303 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 392,977. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.90 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The stock has a market cap of $16.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's 50-day moving average is $294.78 and its 200 day moving average is $293.09.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on 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. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.16.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.