Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 17.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,423,513 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 309,641 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 2.22% of Essex Property Trust worth $420,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position 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 buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 121.8% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $333.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.40.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total transaction of $2,308,430.38. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $817,661.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663 over the last quarter. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESS traded up $2.78 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $296.54. The stock had a trading volume of 340,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 381,396. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $204.64 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $297.44 and a 200 day moving average of $280.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $19.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.88.

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 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 business had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.