National Pension Service Purchases 20,334 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 20.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 121,148 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,334 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $35,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% during the 2nd 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 during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted 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 worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth $66,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $293.76 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $297.44 and its 200 day moving average is $280.77. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $204.64 and a 12-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. The stock has a market cap of $18.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.32, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued 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 net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. The business had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wedbush lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $817,661.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $817,661.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total transaction of $2,546,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,559.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.