ING Groep NV Buys 3,018 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

ING Groep NV increased its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 54.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,587 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 3,018 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the 3rd 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 period. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on ESS shares. Bank of America lowered Essex Property Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $318.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI increased 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, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $297.00.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.3 %

ESS opened at $301.76 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $297.68 and a 200-day moving average of $283.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.25, a P/E/G ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $209.17 and a 1-year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $730,627.59. This represents a 52.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $775,500. This trade represents a 48.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.