Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 258 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd cut its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,064 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 258 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 214.3% during 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 in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush lifted their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.40.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $296.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $204.64 and a one year high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.64, a PEG ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day moving average of $297.44 and a 200 day moving average of $280.77.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. The firm had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

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 transaction of $809,325.09. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. This represents 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 hyperlink. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the company’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 directly owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,627.59. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

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.