Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,907 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 192 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 121.8% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. This trade represents a 48.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of Essex Property Trust 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,627.59. This represents a 52.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Raymond James lowered Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wedbush upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.00.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ESS stock opened at $305.53 on Monday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $210.36 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The stock has a market cap of $19.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.69, a PEG ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $297.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $285.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. The firm had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

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.