Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Diversify Advisory Services LLC

Diversify Advisory Services LLC decreased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 20.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,630 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,550 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth about $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ESS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective 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. Scotiabank lifted their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "neutral" 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 issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $293.40.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE ESS traded down $1.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $298.43. 337,569 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 377,652. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $204.64 and a 52 week high of $317.73. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $298.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $278.87. The company has a market cap of $19.16 billion, a PE ratio of 36.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.88. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $3.77 EPS. As a group, equities 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 company 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. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 121.29%.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $809,325.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at $730,627.59. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the business'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 in the company, valued at $730,627.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 $2,991,559.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

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.