Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Has $292,000 Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 74.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,022 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,905 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,334 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,956 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,698,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $809,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 51,743 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,770,000 after acquiring an additional 12,191 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $527,904. The trade was a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $1,988,843.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,724,192.66. The trade was a 42.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of ESS stock opened at $300.06 on Monday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.90 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $292.37 and a 200-day moving average of $294.55. The company has a market capitalization of $19.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.08%.

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.