KBC Group NV Grows Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 162.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 74,841 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 46,354 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned 0.12% of Essex Property Trust worth $22,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 27,120.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 425,721 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $115,881,000 after purchasing an additional 424,157 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth about $98,594,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $84,393,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,832,845 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $448,701,000 after buying an additional 147,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 205.5% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 202,552 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $59,838,000 after acquiring an additional 136,240 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS stock traded down $0.98 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $301.76. 328,604 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 379,049. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $297.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $283.30. The company has a market cap 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. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $209.17 and a 12-month high of $317.73. 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 (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 the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total value of $2,546,008.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,991,559.40. The trade was a 45.98 % 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. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $775,500. This represents a 48.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on ESS. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Scotiabank upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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 initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $318.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.