Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 23.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 43,383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 13,212 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $12,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 121.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

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 value of $2,308,430.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The trade was a 73.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction 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 $730,627.59. This trade represents a 52.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 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 Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of ESS opened at $300.59 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $297.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $284.68. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $210.36 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 35.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. Analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 114.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.00.

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.