American Century Companies Inc. Decreases Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 28.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 326,813 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 131,467 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.51% of Essex Property Trust worth $88,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $134,000. ING Groep NV increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 5,687 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $675,183,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 256.0% during the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 2,111 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 236,140 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,549,000 after purchasing an additional 34,931 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $244.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $268.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $288.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total value of $1,051,860.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $314.05 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $288.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $265.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $203.85 and a one year high of $314.31. The company has a market cap of $20.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.39, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.85 by ($2.40). The company had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.26 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 9.14%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.77 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.80%.

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.