Millennium Management LLC Grows Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 60.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,503 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 19,062 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Essex Property Trust worth $13,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 121.8% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ESS. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $333.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.40.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded down $2.03 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $287.85. 278,559 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 383,491. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $294.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $272.60. The stock has a market cap of $18.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.20, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $433.26 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.77 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 119.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total value of $2,546,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,559.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total transaction of $2,546,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,559.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.