Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by NFJ Investment Group LLC

NFJ Investment Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 14.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,995 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,990 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $7,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $212,583,000 after buying an additional 633,200 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 424,157 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $98,594,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $84,393,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 154.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 444,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $131,282,000 after purchasing an additional 269,923 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ESS. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas began coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.00.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of ESS opened at $301.02 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $297.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.35 billion, a PE ratio of 35.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $218.59 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 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 business had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,559.40. This trade represents a 45.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $809,325.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at $730,627.59. The trade was a 52.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,949 shares of company stock valued at $5,663,763. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Essex Property Trust

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.