Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Mizuho Markets Americas LLC

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lowered its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 20.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,518 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 5,140 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $6,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of 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. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 121.8% in 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 in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $301.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $209.17 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.25, a P/E/G ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.88. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $297.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $283.56.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. The business had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $775,500. This trade represents a 48.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 owns 2,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at $730,627.59. This trade represents a 52.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663 over the last three months. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ESS. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $333.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $297.00.

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.

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