Ethic Inc. Has $1.59 Million Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Ethic Inc. raised its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,572 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.3%

ESS stock opened at $286.36 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.85 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The company has a market cap of $18.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $285.94 and a 200-day moving average of $290.21.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. The firm had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $458.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $2.57 dividend. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ESS. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. 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 report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $329.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $308.89.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 approximately $4,303,393.38. This trade 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, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $1,988,843.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,724,192.66. The trade was a 42.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.46% of the company’s stock.

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.