WealthTrust Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

WealthTrust Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 540 shares during the period. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Trust Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $217,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,167,000. Sienna Gestion grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 12.5% in the second quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 1,303 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,235,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 46,618 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,689,000 after buying an additional 1,510 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $809,325.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at $730,627.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,627.59. The transaction 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 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 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.1 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $312.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.19, a PEG 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $203.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $267.92.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.77 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Piper Sandler increased 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.10.

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.