BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 61,991 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 83.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 136,454 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,991 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.21% of Essex Property Trust worth $40,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 27,120.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 425,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $115,881,000 after purchasing an additional 424,157 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth about $98,594,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $84,393,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $392,766,000 after acquiring an additional 183,947 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 205.5% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 202,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,838,000 after acquiring an additional 136,240 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $312.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $210.36 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $297.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $286.65.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. The company had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Raymond James cut shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America cut Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.00.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. This represents a 73.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total value of $2,546,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,559.40. The trade was a 45.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,949 shares of company stock worth $5,663,763. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.