ProShare Advisors LLC Purchases 6,216 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 741,053 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,216 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 1.15% of Essex Property Trust worth $201,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Vima LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 2.0 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $306.21 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $292.19 and a 200 day moving average of $268.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G 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.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.26 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.77 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ESS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 note on Monday, September 16th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped 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 note on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total value of $2,308,430.38. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $817,661.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663 in the last three months. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.