Hartford Investment Management Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Hartford Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,069 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 48 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 151.8% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 486 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 69.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 23,362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,902,000 after buying an additional 9,560 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 168.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Vert Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 26,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,681,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $316,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at $730,627.59. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 2.0 %

ESS stock opened at $295.65 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $203.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $297.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $277.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.14, a PEG ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.85 by ($2.40). The firm had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.26 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 30.31%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.77 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 119.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ESS. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Raymond James lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted 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. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.40.

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.