Inspire Investing LLC Sells 836 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Inspire Investing LLC reduced its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 46.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 976 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 836 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.4% in the second quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 0.6% during the second quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 8,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 591 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 11,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,765,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total value of $2,308,430.38. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $775,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America lowered Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.40.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $300.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.85 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $293.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $269.57.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $3.77 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 119.80%.

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.