ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Buys Shares of 127,697 Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 127,697 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $36,450,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 25.0% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,238 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 2,247 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.6% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth $275,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth $1,456,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on ESS shares. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.16.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS opened at $307.54 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $295.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $294.62. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.90 and a 52-week high of $317.73. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $19.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, sell-side analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.