Inspire Investing LLC Sells 836 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Inspire Investing LLC reduced its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 46.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 976 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 836 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.7% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 8,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,368,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 591 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 11,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,765,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $775,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total value of $2,308,430.38. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.40.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $300.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $19.28 billion, a PE ratio of 36.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.85 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $293.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $269.57.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 30.31%. The company had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.77 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.