KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires New Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 23,311 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $6,654,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $508,381,000 after purchasing an additional 25,591 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,494,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $426,532,000 after buying an additional 70,785 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 772,883 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $220,612,000 after buying an additional 18,704 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $212,583,000 after acquiring an additional 633,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 607,775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $173,475,000 after acquiring an additional 36,451 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $303.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.51 billion, a PE ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. 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 12-month low of $230.90 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $293.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.61.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.16.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust 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.