Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Stake Increased by V Square Quantitative Management LLC

V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 15.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 898 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 117 shares during the quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ESS. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 86.5% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 997,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $244,269,000 after acquiring an additional 462,828 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 27,120.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 425,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $115,881,000 after purchasing an additional 424,157 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $98,594,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 8.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,832,845 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $448,701,000 after purchasing an additional 147,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 34.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 553,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $135,348,000 after buying an additional 140,294 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of ESS stock opened at $296.50 on Monday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $203.85 and a 12 month 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 firm has a market cap of $19.04 billion, a PE ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $296.55 and a 200-day moving average of $276.15.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company earned $3.77 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ESS. Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.