Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Director Sells $2,745,700.00 in Stock

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,425,519.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $284.59 on Thursday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.85 and a 1 year high of $284.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $257.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $245.07. The company has a market capitalization of $18.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.79, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 3.19 and a current ratio of 3.19.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ESS. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $291.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Raymond James upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $250.00 to $275.00 in a report on Monday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $257.28.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $675,183,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $761,760,000 after purchasing an additional 730,141 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 86.5% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 997,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $244,269,000 after purchasing an additional 462,828 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 119.3% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 412,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $102,602,000 after purchasing an additional 224,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5,069.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 208,651 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,253,000 after purchasing an additional 204,615 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

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.