Groupama Asset Managment Invests $1.94 Million in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,856 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,939,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 486.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $307.54 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $19.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.90 and a fifty-two week 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’s 50 day moving average price is $295.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $294.62.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share 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%. On average, research 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 business 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 dividend of $2.57 per share. 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. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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. 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock worth $6,682,539. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI upped 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.16.

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.