Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 28.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 319,189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 127,978 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.50% of Essex Property Trust worth $91,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $271.80 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $294.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $230.90 and a one year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on ESS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Truist Financial boosted 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. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.16.

About Essex Property Trust

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.