Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 979.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,843 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,393 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $16,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ESS. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 154,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,550,000 after purchasing an additional 15,087 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $575,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 99.9% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $974,000 after buying an additional 1,648 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE ESS opened at $275.13 on Wednesday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $240.58 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $17.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $289.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $290.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. The business had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. Equities analysts forecast 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 was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $2.57 dividend. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 in the last quarter. 3.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.