Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Bought by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 69.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,362 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 9,560 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $6,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in 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 during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew 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. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 121.8% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at about $66,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of Essex Property Trust 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 in the company, valued at approximately $775,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut Essex Property Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $293.40.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Essex Property Trust stock traded up $2.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $296.50. 198,747 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 380,199. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The business's 50-day moving average is $296.55 and its 200-day moving average is $275.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.04 billion, a PE ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $203.85 and a 12-month high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). The company had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.77 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.55 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 119.80%.

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.