KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires Shares of 23,311 Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

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

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ESS. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 368,855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $105,286,000 after buying an additional 43,847 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 6,091 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,927 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $948,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 34,432 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,828,000 after purchasing an additional 9,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 41,161 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,749,000 after purchasing an additional 9,400 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ESS. Evercore ISI lifted 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 lifted their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.16.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.6 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $303.37 on Wednesday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.90 and a twelve month high of $317.73. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $293.18 and a 200-day moving average of $294.61. The stock 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.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. On average, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $1,988,843.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 8,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,724,192.66. This represents a 42.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % 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.

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.