Xponance Inc. Sells 182 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Xponance Inc. decreased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,922 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 182 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 17.9% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 8,991 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $216,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 0.8% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 741,053 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $201,715,000 after acquiring an additional 6,216 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 16.4% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 27,704 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,541,000 after acquiring an additional 3,905 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth about $9,685,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $294.17 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. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $293.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $269.77. The company has a market cap of $18.89 billion, a PE ratio of 36.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $442.36 million for 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 quarter last year, the company earned $3.77 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 119.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ESS shares. Scotiabank increased 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 note on Monday, September 16th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,627.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 value of $735,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663 over the last three months. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.