State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 6,490 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,515 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 6,490 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned about 0.07% of Essex Property Trust worth $12,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 4.7% in the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.7% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Quilter Plc boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.6% during the second quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 8,698 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,368,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 7.4% during 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 last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded up $4.02 during trading on Monday, hitting $299.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 267,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 377,821. 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 firm has a market cap of $19.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.09, a P/E/G ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $298.05 and a 200-day moving average of $278.45. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $204.64 and a 12 month high of $317.73.

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

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 121.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at $775,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the firm'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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $775,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 quarter. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Bank of America downgraded Essex Property Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $318.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted 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 report on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.40.

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.