Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lessened its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,404 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 139 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 214.3% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 121.8% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:ESS 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $292.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $269.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.85, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $433.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.77 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 119.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at $730,627.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at $730,627.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of Essex Property Trust 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 transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on ESS shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.10.

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.