Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Has $1.80 Million Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,601 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of 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. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $775,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $775,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $809,325.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,627.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,884 shares of company stock valued at $5,143,094. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $312.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $20.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $290.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $267.61. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $203.85 and a 1-year high of $317.73.

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

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Piper Sandler raised 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, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.10.

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.