First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Boosts Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 64.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,873 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 4.7% during the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. M&R Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 8,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 781 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Essex Property Trust news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,627.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock opened at $276.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $297.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $279.62. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $204.64 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.36, a PEG ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. The company had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.49%.

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.