Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Raises Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $8,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ESS. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew 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. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $309.90 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $287.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.02. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $203.85 and a 52 week high of $310.25. The company has a market capitalization of $19.90 billion, a PE ratio of 37.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 30.31%. The company had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.77 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $268.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 target price for the company. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $288.30.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,500. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.