International Assets Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 285,671 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $84,393,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned 0.44% of Essex Property Trust at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 3.7% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. M&R Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Quilter Plc increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 8,698 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 7.4% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 781 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.3% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,707 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,636,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:ESS traded down $6.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $295.65. 228,191 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 355,371. The firm has a market cap of $18.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.59, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $277.82. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.85 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). The firm had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.26 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 9.14%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.77 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.55 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America downgraded Essex Property Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total transaction of $2,546,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,991,559.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,991,559.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 $775,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663 over the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company 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.