The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $13.56 Million Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,899 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.07% of Essex Property Trust worth $13,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 214.3% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 600.0% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 121.8% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ESS. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.00.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $310.46 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $297.12 and a 200-day moving average of $287.29. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $211.35 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.95 billion, a PE ratio of 36.27, a PEG ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 114.49%.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total transaction of $2,308,430.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $817,661.35. This represents a 73.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,949 shares of company stock valued at $5,663,763. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Essex Property Trust

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.