Atomi Financial Group Inc. Invests $204,000 in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 690 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $288.08 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.22, a PEG ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $203.85 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $294.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $274.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). The company had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the business earned $3.77 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.55 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.80%.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $817,661.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.40.

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.