Van ECK Associates Corp Has $8.77 Million Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,236 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 3,081 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $8,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Quilter Plc increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.6% during the second quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 8,698 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,368,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 781 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essex Property Trust 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of Essex Property Trust 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total value of $2,308,430.38. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $817,661.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE ESS traded up $1.87 during trading on Thursday, reaching $295.63. 148,706 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 380,430. The business's 50-day moving average price is $297.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $280.77. The company has a market capitalization of $19.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $204.64 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

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

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ESS shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $333.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.40.

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.