Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,353 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 191 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.4% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 27,704 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,541,000 after acquiring an additional 3,905 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,685,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 9.5% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 33,727 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,180,000 after buying an additional 2,933 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 315,454 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $85,867,000 after buying an additional 3,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 4.5% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,492 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in 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 weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total value of $2,308,430.38. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total transaction of $2,308,430.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $817,661.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $309.65 on Tuesday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $203.85 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $19.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.85, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $292.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $269.18. 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 (NYSE:ESS) last announced 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). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The company had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.77 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 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.