Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 2,010 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC decreased its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,896 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,010 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.06% of Essex Property Trust worth $11,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 14.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 882 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,604 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,281,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 64.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,873 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 58,694 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $17,339,000 after acquiring an additional 3,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at about $403,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of ESS traded up $2.78 on Thursday, hitting $296.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 340,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 381,397. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $297.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $280.77. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.64 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.64, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). The company had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total transaction of $2,308,430.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on ESS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $318.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of 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. Raymond James cut shares of Essex Property Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.40.

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.