Andra AP fonden Has $17.53 Million Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Andra AP fonden increased its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 9,200 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden owned approximately 0.10% of Essex Property Trust worth $17,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ESS. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $306.63.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total transaction of $1,552,585.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. This trade represents a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,545 shares of company stock valued at $5,840,299. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $301.55 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $288.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $294.51. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.90 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The stock has a market cap of $19.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.