Aurora Investment Managers LLC. Purchases 2,105 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Aurora Investment Managers LLC. raised its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 25.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,441 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,105 shares during the period. Essex Property Trust makes up about 1.8% of Aurora Investment Managers LLC.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Aurora Investment Managers LLC.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 111.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 645.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ESS shares. Bank of America upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $291.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $257.28.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS traded down $1.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $278.22. The stock had a trading volume of 911,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 290,138. The company’s 50-day moving average is $258.66 and its 200 day moving average is $245.70. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $203.85 and a 12-month high of $284.77. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $17.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.84.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 119.80%.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total transaction of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,425,519.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

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.