Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by WealthTrust Asset Management LLC

WealthTrust Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 16.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 540 shares during the period. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in 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 worth $53,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other 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 in the company, valued at approximately $730,627.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,500. 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. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock opened at $312.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.85 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $267.92.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

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

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.