Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Stock Holdings Lifted by GC Wealth Management RIA LLC

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 23.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,835 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the period. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ESS. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $226,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 14.4% in the third quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC now owns 2,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $721,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $1,004,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS stock opened at $299.05 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $288.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $294.66. The company has a market capitalization of $19.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91, a P/E/G 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.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. This represents a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,545 shares of company stock valued at $5,840,299. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.