Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Acquired by GC Wealth Management RIA LLC

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,835 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the period. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on ESS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.16.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $299.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $19.24 billion, a PE ratio of 25.91, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $288.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $294.66. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.90 and a fifty-two week 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.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the director now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,654 shares in the company, valued at $2,724,192.66. This represents a 42.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,545 shares of company stock worth $5,840,299. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.