Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $761,760,000 after purchasing an additional 730,141 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $675,183,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 8.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,832,845 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $448,701,000 after acquiring an additional 147,130 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 744,175 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $182,185,000 after purchasing an additional 23,673 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $295.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 3.19. The firm has a market cap of $18.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $281.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $259.05. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $203.85 and a 1-year high of $298.19.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.77 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ESS. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wedbush upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. 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 report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $244.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $272.55.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total transaction of $2,745,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,425,519.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,425,519.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.80% 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.