Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) CAO Anne Morrison Sells 2,571 Shares

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,627.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.0 %

ESS traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $312.00. 237,404 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 373,585. The firm has a market cap of $20.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $203.85 and a 12-month 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $290.16 and a 200 day moving average of $267.29.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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 in the prior year, the company posted $3.77 EPS. Analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 119.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on ESS shares. Scotiabank raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.10.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $384,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,636,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1,319.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 880 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $98,594,000. Finally, Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth $616,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Essex Property Trust

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.