Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board reduced its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 50.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,303 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 3,303 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ESS. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $333.00 target price for the company. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Raymond James cut shares of Essex Property Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $297.00.

Insider Activity

In other Essex Property Trust news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the company's 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 directly owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $730,627.59. This represents a 52.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 represents a 48.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663 in the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.2 %

Essex Property Trust stock traded up $3.58 during trading on Thursday, reaching $304.17. The stock had a trading volume of 50,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 375,942. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $210.36 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $297.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $284.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $19.55 billion, a PE ratio of 35.12, a P/E/G ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 114.49%.

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.