Unigestion Holding SA Boosts Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Unigestion Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,366 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 5,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,579,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $11,675,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth $365,000. Yoffe Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $661,000. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,450,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $271.80 on Monday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.90 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $294.07.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. On average, analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.