Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank cut its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 192,252 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 8,400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.30% of Essex Property Trust worth $47,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 632.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,719,000 after buying an additional 12,954 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 201.1% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $132,639,000 after purchasing an additional 357,268 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 49,277 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,218,000 after purchasing an additional 4,943 shares in the last quarter. JLP Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $2,802,000. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,304,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at $2,641,895.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total value of $1,051,860.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at $2,641,895.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total transaction of $2,745,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,425,519.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ESS. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $244.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, June 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $261.05.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of ESS stock traded up $1.88 during trading on Monday, hitting $276.21. 15,406 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 373,053. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $268.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.62. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $284.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 3.19 and a current ratio of 3.19.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.80%.

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.