Summit Global Investments Takes Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 3,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $948,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ESS. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 5,823 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $645,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the sale, 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 available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $300.06 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $292.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $294.60. 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 $19.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.00, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business 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 $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on ESS shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of 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. Evercore ISI raised 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.