Vinva Investment Management Ltd Has $1.71 Million Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 108.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,788 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 3,017 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake 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 during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $809,325.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $730,627.59. This represents a 52.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total value of $2,546,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,991,559.40. This trade represents a 45.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,949 shares of company stock valued at $5,663,763. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ESS shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $318.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on 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, BNP Paribas started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $333.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $297.00.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded down $2.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $310.46. 238,721 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 374,654. 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 company has a market cap of $19.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.27, a P/E/G ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $211.35 and a one year high of $317.73. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $297.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.00.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. 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.