OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Increases Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 163.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,413 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 12,650 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $6,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during the second 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. acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased 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 worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ESS. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $318.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Truist Financial increased 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 note on Tuesday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $297.00.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $817,661.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the business'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 owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 valued at $6,399,663 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.5 %

Essex Property Trust stock traded down $1.62 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $302.52. The company had a trading volume of 55,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 379,538. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $204.64 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The stock has a market cap of $19.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.88. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $297.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $282.24.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). The firm 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 period last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.49%.

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.