Citigroup Inc. Purchases 55,243 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 68.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,244 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 55,243 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of Essex Property Trust worth $40,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 6.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 754,179 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $222,800,000 after buying an additional 47,114 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 16.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $392,766,000 after purchasing an additional 183,947 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,160,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,881 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,624,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $645,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS traded up $4.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $309.60. The company had a trading volume of 404,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 376,194. 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 cap of $19.90 billion, a PE ratio of 35.69, a P/E/G ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $210.36 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $297.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $285.57.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). The firm had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $445.88 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors 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 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 114.49%.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total value of $2,308,430.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The trade was a 73.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $809,325.09. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $297.00.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.