Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 3,977 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,001,769 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,977 shares during the period. Essex Property Trust comprises about 1.5% of Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. owned 1.56% of Essex Property Trust worth $272,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 600.0% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Vima LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 121.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total transaction of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,519.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,519.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,233 shares of company stock worth $4,533,461 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of 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 upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $268.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $244.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $282.37.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.6 %

ESS opened at $300.05 on Tuesday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $203.85 and a fifty-two week high of $307.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market cap of $19.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $285.49 and its 200 day moving average is $263.85.

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

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.80%.

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.