Polymer Capital Management US LLC Makes New $709,000 Investment in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Polymer Capital Management US LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,483 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $709,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,353,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,955,205,000 after buying an additional 61,645 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,758,174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $500,688,000 after acquiring an additional 32,102 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $471,258,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $426,532,000 after acquiring an additional 70,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 772,883 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $220,612,000 after purchasing an additional 18,704 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ESS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays upped their price target on 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. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.16.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 7.7 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $271.80 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $294.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.48 billion, a P/E 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. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.90 and a 52 week 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 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%. Analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change 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%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

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.