Tredje AP fonden Sells 158 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Tredje AP fonden cut its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,190 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 158 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ESS. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 256.0% during the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 2,111 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 236,140 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,549,000 after buying an additional 34,931 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 62,067 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,389,000 after buying an additional 5,887 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 4,508 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,807 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ESS shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $291.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $817,661.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $312.42 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $203.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $291.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.92. The stock has a market cap of $20.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.85 by ($2.40). The firm had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 30.31%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.77 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 119.80%.

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.