Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Acquires New Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 35,582 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $9,685,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Essex Property Trust at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 236,140 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $58,549,000 after buying an additional 34,931 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 62,067 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,389,000 after acquiring an additional 5,887 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 4,508 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,807 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $306.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.85 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $292.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.53.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). The firm 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 last year, the business earned $3.77 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 given a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 119.80%.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,500. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total value of $2,546,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,559.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,500. 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 90 days. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ESS. Wedbush upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.10.

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.