Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $15.06 Million Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 50,989 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 479 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $15,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 162.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 74,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,109,000 after purchasing an additional 46,354 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 237.7% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,761 shares during the period. ING Groep NV grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 54.2% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 8,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,537,000 after acquiring an additional 3,018 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 74.7% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth $541,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of ESS opened at $299.79 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $298.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $19.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.02, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $223.06 and a one year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.