Hsbc Holdings PLC Cuts Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 16.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 196,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 38,429 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.31% of Essex Property Trust worth $53,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 10.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after buying an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 3.3% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 46,618 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,689,000 after buying an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at $796,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at about $443,000. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 27,120.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 425,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $115,881,000 after purchasing an additional 424,157 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,627.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total value of $2,546,008.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,559.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at $730,627.59. 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. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $291.10.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $306.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.43, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average is $292.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $268.35. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $203.85 and a 1-year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.85 by ($2.40). The firm had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the firm earned $3.77 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 119.80%.

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.