Mizuho Securities USA LLC Acquires 1,927 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 46.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,091 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,927 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of 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 period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $303.37 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $293.18 and a 200-day moving average of $294.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $19.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.90 and a 1 year high of $317.73.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current 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 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 is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on ESS shares. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.16.

Essex Property Trust 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.