LM Advisors LLC Has $2.21 Million Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

LM Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. LM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,353,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,955,205,000 after purchasing an additional 61,645 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $508,381,000 after buying an additional 25,591 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,494,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $426,532,000 after acquiring an additional 70,785 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 772,883 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $220,612,000 after acquiring an additional 18,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $212,583,000 after acquiring an additional 633,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total transaction of $1,552,585.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at $4,303,393.38. This represents a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 over the last 90 days. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $305.93 on Thursday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.90 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $19.68 billion, a PE ratio of 26.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $293.64 and a 200-day moving average of $294.69.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on ESS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial boosted their target price 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. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.16.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.