Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Stake Raised by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 175,435 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 23,842 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $50,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 4,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Gen Wealth Partners Inc increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,952 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 3.4%

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $277.80 on Thursday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.85 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 has a market capitalization of $17.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.07, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $284.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.87.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.83 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 98.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. 3.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ESS. Evercore ISI increased 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 report on Monday, February 10th. 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 report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $329.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $312.17.

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.