B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Purchases Shares of 2,185 Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $645,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in the 2nd 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 stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush raised their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.00.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $305.53 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $297.17 and its 200 day moving average is $285.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.64 billion, a PE ratio of 35.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $210.36 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. The company had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 114.49%.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,627.59. The trade was a 52.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. The trade was a 48.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

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.