Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 37 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,839 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 37 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Vima LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $291.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,627.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,627.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total transaction of $2,308,430.38. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $817,661.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $306.21 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.85 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $292.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $268.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.66 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43, 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 current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

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 the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $3.77 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

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

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.