Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Acquired by Sienna Gestion

Sienna Gestion grew its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 12.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,303 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ESS. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. M&R Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.4% during the second quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 0.6% during the second quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 8,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 10.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 591 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 11,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,765,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of ESS opened at $312.42 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $291.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $267.92. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $203.85 and a one year high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.19, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Mizuho upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush increased their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.10.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,627.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust 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.