The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires 135 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 45,899 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $13,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth about $4,299,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 47,068 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,287,000 after purchasing an additional 6,163 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 53.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 907 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 12,316 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth $131,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.8 %

ESS opened at $310.46 on Monday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $211.35 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.27, a PEG ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average is $297.12 and its 200 day moving average is $287.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $450.70 million during 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. Research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 114.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ESS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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