Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Decreases Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund trimmed its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 21,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,100 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $5,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ESS. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at about $384,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.3% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,636,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1,319.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 880 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at about $98,594,000. Finally, Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at about $616,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.1 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $289.88 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $203.85 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $294.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $272.38. The firm has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a PE ratio of 35.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.88.

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 business had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.77 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ESS. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.40.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $735,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $775,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $809,325.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at $730,627.59. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $775,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663 in the last quarter. Corporate 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.