California Public Employees Retirement System Purchases 2,732 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 187,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,732 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.29% of Essex Property Trust worth $53,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,353,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,955,205,000 after purchasing an additional 61,645 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 buying an additional 25,591 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $471,258,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 70,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 valued at $220,612,000 after acquiring an additional 18,704 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of ESS opened at $305.57 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $295.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $294.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.90 and a 52 week high of $317.73. 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 (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. On average, analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is an increase 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.16.

Insider Activity 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 value of $1,988,843.22. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value 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 position. 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 3.80% 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.