Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Acquired by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 55.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,325 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $761,760,000 after buying an additional 730,141 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $675,183,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 828,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $175,651,000 after purchasing an additional 71,359 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 776,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $164,233,000 after purchasing an additional 89,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 689,608 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $170,981,000 after purchasing an additional 18,324 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,519.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total value of $1,051,860.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ESS. Scotiabank raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com raised Essex Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $232.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $258.63.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS opened at $272.20 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 3.19 and a current ratio of 3.19. The company has a market cap of $17.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $262.73 and a 200-day moving average of $247.63. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.85 and a 52-week high of $284.77.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.80%.

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.