Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 12,191 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,743 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 12,191 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.08% of Essex Property Trust worth $14,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 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 in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other news, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $1,988,843.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 8,654 shares in the company, valued at $2,724,192.66. This trade represents a 42.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,545 shares of company stock worth $5,840,299. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on ESS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of 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. Truist Financial increased 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 report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.16.

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Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $292.78 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $18.83 billion, a PE ratio of 25.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $289.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.64. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.90 and a 1 year high of $317.73.

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%. Equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.08%.

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.

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