Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund decreased its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,400 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 3,100 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $5,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 51,992 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $12,891,000 after buying an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 8,617 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 251.9% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,051 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,988,000 after purchasing an additional 8,626 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 23,400 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,802,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,934 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 538 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

Essex Property Trust stock traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $289.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 344,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 384,038. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $294.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $272.60. The firm has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.44, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). The business had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 30.31%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.77 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 119.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased 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 report on Monday, August 26th. Raymond James increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $293.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $809,325.09. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 approximately $730,627.59. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663 in the last three months. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.