362,210 Shares in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Bought by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 362,210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $98,594,000. Essex Property Trust comprises about 1.3% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.56% of Essex Property Trust as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.2% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,832,845 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $448,701,000 after buying an additional 147,130 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,145,569 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $311,824,000 after buying an additional 27,570 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,001,769 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $272,682,000 after acquiring an additional 3,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 941,501 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $256,280,000 after acquiring an additional 12,822 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Raymond James raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total transaction of $2,308,430.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total value 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. 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 over the last three months. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS stock opened at $294.60 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $18.92 billion, a PE ratio of 36.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $293.96 and a 200-day moving average of $270.50. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $203.85 and a 12-month high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 9.14%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.77 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 119.80%.

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.