Leeward Investments LLC MA Sells 8,128 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Leeward Investments LLC MA reduced its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,391 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 8,128 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $9,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.7% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 147,130 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,145,569 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $311,824,000 after acquiring an additional 27,570 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,001,769 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $272,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 941,501 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $256,280,000 after purchasing an additional 12,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 744,175 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $182,185,000 after purchasing an additional 23,673 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, 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 transaction of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $775,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $775,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at $730,627.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663 in the last ninety days. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ESS shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Raymond James downgraded Essex Property Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.40.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE:ESS traded up $7.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $304.45. 130,421 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 380,241. The company has a market capitalization of $19.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.64, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $297.44 and a 200 day moving average of $280.77. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $204.64 and a 1-year high of $317.73.

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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). The company had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 114.49%.

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.