Essex Property Trust Inc (NYSE:ESS) was in 11 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. ESS investors should pay attention to a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds recently. There were 12 hedge funds in our database with ESS holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
Just as integral, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are many motivations for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if you understand where to look (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, let’s take a gander at the key action regarding Essex Property Trust Inc (NYSE:ESS).
What have hedge funds been doing with Essex Property Trust Inc (NYSE:ESS)?
At year’s end, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -8% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings meaningfully.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Capital Growth Management, managed by Ken Heebner, holds the largest position in Essex Property Trust Inc (NYSE:ESS). Capital Growth Management has a $99 million position in the stock, comprising 2.6% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Israel Englander of Millennium Management, with a $29.5 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other peers with similar optimism include John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates.
Due to the fact that Essex Property Trust Inc (NYSE:ESS) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there lies a certain “tier” of hedgies that elected to cut their positions entirely at the end of the year. At the top of the heap, Jeffrey Furber’s AEW Capital Management sold off the largest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, valued at an estimated $22.2 million in stock., and Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold of LMR Partners was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $2.3 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds at the end of the year.
How are insiders trading Essex Property Trust Inc (NYSE:ESS)?
Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last 180-day time frame, Essex Property Trust Inc (NYSE:ESS) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Essex Property Trust Inc (NYSE:ESS). These stocks are Two Harbors Investment Corp (NYSE:TWO), American Campus Communities, Inc. (NYSE:ACC), Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE:SNH), UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR), and Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT). This group of stocks are the members of the reit – residential industry and their market caps are closest to ESS’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Two Harbors Investment Corp (NYSE:TWO) | 18 | 6 | 0 |
| American Campus Communities, Inc. (NYSE:ACC) | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE:SNH) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR) | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT) | 10 | 0 | 12 |
With the returns shown by Insider Monkey’s strategies, retail investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Essex Property Trust Inc (NYSE:ESS) is no exception.
