Swedbank AB Lowers Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Swedbank AB cut its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,850 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 371 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $4,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ESS. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America lowered Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $817,661.35. The trade was 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 in the last three months. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $296.60 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $275.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.04 billion, a PE ratio of 36.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $203.85 and a one year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). The firm had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 previous year, the business earned $3.77 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.80%.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.