Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,839 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 37 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ESS. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 236,140 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,549,000 after purchasing an additional 34,931 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 62,067 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,389,000 after acquiring an additional 5,887 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 4,508 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,807 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total transaction of $2,546,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,559.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663 in the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $306.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.66 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.85 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $292.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $268.53.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). The business had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.26 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 30.31%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.77 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ESS. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.10.

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.