Insider Selling: Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) CEO Sells 4,929 Shares of Stock

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total transaction of $1,552,585.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of ESS traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $301.55. 554,556 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 357,204. The stock's 50-day moving average is $288.49 and its 200-day moving average is $294.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.90 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The company has a market cap of $19.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ESS shares. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $306.63.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.