Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt reduced its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 43.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 257 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $70,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 201.1% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $132,639,000 after acquiring an additional 357,268 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $19,941,000 after buying an additional 2,083 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 11.1% in 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 buying an additional 4,943 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.7% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 225,045 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $55,093,000 after buying an additional 18,000 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 119.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 412,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $102,602,000 after acquiring an additional 224,554 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $266.75.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock traded down $2.67 on Monday, hitting $279.97. 54,809 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 382,862. The stock has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.86. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $203.85 and a 1-year high of $292.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $277.13 and a 200-day moving average of $254.87.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 30.31%. The company had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.77 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were given a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.