Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Given Overweight Rating at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reissued their overweight rating on shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a $315.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $232.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $244.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $258.63.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $272.11 on Friday. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $203.85 and a 52-week high of $284.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $262.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $247.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 3.19 and a current ratio of 3.19. The company has a market capitalization of $17.47 billion, a PE ratio of 33.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.84.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 119.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were 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 $4,425,519.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,425,519.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 111.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 112.3% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% 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.