Earnest Partners LLC Sells 1,313 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Earnest Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,743 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,313 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $15,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 121.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of ESS opened at $294.17 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $293.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $269.77. 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 $18.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.96, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.88. 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 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). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The company 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 posted $3.77 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 119.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial increased 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. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.40.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total value of $2,546,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,559.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total transaction of $2,546,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,559.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

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.