Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Purchases 53,393 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 979.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,843 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,393 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of Essex Property Trust worth $16,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 10.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 154,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,550,000 after acquiring an additional 15,087 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $575,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $217,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 99.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $974,000 after buying an additional 1,648 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $275.13 on Wednesday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $240.58 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $289.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $290.89. The company has a market capitalization of $17.70 billion, a PE ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. The firm had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $2.57 dividend. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $527,904. The trade was a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. Insiders own 3.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reduced 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, 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. One investment 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, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.11.

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.