Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Purchases 25,737 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 277.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,737 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.05% of Essex Property Trust worth $9,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth $1,017,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 8,691 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,481,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 18,889 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,392,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Natixis increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 108.3% during the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 24,914 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,111,000 after acquiring an additional 12,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norinchukin Bank The raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 5,772 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. This trade represents a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $1,988,843.22. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.46% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $275.50 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $17.72 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $240.58 and a 52-week high of $317.73. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $290.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.08.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

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.