Entropy Technologies LP Acquires Shares of 2,442 Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $721,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2.6% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 81,456 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $19,941,000 after purchasing an additional 2,083 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 225,045 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,093,000 after purchasing an additional 18,000 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 107.9% during the 1st quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 43,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,723,000 after purchasing an additional 22,736 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $743,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $532,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the business’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. The trade was a 52.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $775,500. This represents a 48.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ESS. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on 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 cut Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.00.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS stock opened at $302.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.37, a P/E/G ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $209.17 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $297.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $282.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). The firm had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.49%.

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.