State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 6,490 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 13.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,515 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,490 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $12,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ESS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI raised 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. UBS Group upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.40.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $730,627.59. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $809,325.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,627.59. The trade was 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, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company’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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $295.65 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $297.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $203.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The company has a market cap of $18.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.77 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.55 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 paid a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.29%.

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.