Cibc World Markets Corp Raises Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,850 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,151 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $8,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ESS. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in 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. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,041,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the director now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $298.84 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.90 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $290.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $294.58. The firm has a market cap of $19.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.