New York State Teachers Retirement System Purchases 3,316 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,694 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 3,316 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.09% of Essex Property Trust worth $17,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 86.5% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 997,792 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $244,269,000 after acquiring an additional 462,828 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 27,120.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 425,721 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $115,881,000 after purchasing an additional 424,157 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $98,594,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth $84,393,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,832,845 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $448,701,000 after buying an additional 147,130 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS stock traded down $6.89 during trading on Friday, hitting $276.97. The company had a trading volume of 485,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 379,620. The stock's 50-day moving average is $297.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $279.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $204.64 and a 52 week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. The company had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 114.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America downgraded Essex Property Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $333.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at $730,627.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the firm's 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 approximately $775,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $730,627.59. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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 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.