Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 15,489 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Wellington Management Group LLP cut its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 642,956 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 15,489 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 1.00% of Essex Property Trust worth $189,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $392,766,000 after purchasing an additional 183,947 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.4% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,001,769 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $272,682,000 after buying an additional 3,977 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 941,501 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $256,280,000 after acquiring an additional 12,822 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 6.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 754,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $222,800,000 after acquiring an additional 47,114 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 741,053 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $201,715,000 after purchasing an additional 6,216 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.1 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $300.10 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $297.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $288.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $19.29 billion, a PE ratio of 35.06, a PEG ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $222.30 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued 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 net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. The firm had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.49%.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $817,661.35. The trade was a 73.84 % decrease in their position. 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $730,627.59. This trade represents a 52.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,949 shares of company stock worth $5,663,763 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ESS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Raymond James lowered Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.00.

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.