Quarry LP Buys 818 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Quarry LP raised its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 1,319.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 880 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 818 shares during the quarter. Quarry LP’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 21,012 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 30,032 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,299 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 49,923 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,378,000 after buying an additional 20,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 51,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,891,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $294.60 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $293.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $270.70. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $203.85 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.85 by ($2.40). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The company had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.77 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $817,661.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,559.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663 over the last quarter. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on ESS shares. Wedbush lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on 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. UBS Group upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.40.

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.