Schroder Investment Management Group Raises Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 1,620.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 197,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 185,958 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $55,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position 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 worth $64,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $306.95 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $294.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.59. The firm has a market cap of $19.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $230.90 and a one year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued 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%. Research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 89.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.16.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at $4,303,393.38. This trade represents a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.80% 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.