Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 49.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,406 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,394 shares during the quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,643 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,631,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $286,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,623 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $967,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,641,895.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,519.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total value of $1,051,860.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,641,895.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ESS shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $266.75.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS traded up $3.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $284.60. 183,831 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 382,842. The company's 50 day moving average is $277.56 and its 200 day moving average is $255.21. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $203.85 and a one year high of $292.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 3.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.86.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.85 by ($2.40). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The business had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.77 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.80%.

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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