Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $761,760,000 after acquiring an additional 730,141 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $675,183,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,832,845 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $448,701,000 after buying an additional 147,130 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 86.5% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 997,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $244,269,000 after acquiring an additional 462,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 3.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 744,175 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $182,185,000 after acquiring an additional 23,673 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.4 %

ESS opened at $315.15 on Tuesday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $316.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $289.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.75. The firm has a market cap of $20.24 billion, a PE ratio of 38.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). The business had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 9.14%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.77 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $291.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $735,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 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 directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.