Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $65.94 Million Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 223,211 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 14,255 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $65,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 36.4% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,582 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,235 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,330,000 after buying an additional 939 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,058 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,921,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $743,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $83,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.1 %

ESS stock opened at $300.10 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $297.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $222.30 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.29 billion, a PE ratio of 35.06, a PEG ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.90.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). The firm 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 prior year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 114.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ESS. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. 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 note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total value of $2,308,430.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The trade was a 73.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at $730,627.59. The trade was a 52.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,949 shares of company stock worth $5,663,763 in the last ninety days. 3.90% of the stock is currently 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.