UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Raises Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 732.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 633,200 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $212,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in 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 in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during the 2nd 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. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS stock opened at $310.46 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $297.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.15. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $211.35 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The firm 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. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. During the same period last year, the company 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 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 paid a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 114.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price 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. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.00.

Insider Activity

In other Essex Property Trust news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,559.40. This trade represents a 45.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 $817,661.35. This represents a 73.84 % decrease in their position. 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. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.