Commerce Bank Sells 72 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Commerce Bank lowered its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESSFree Report) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,554 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 72 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Assetmark Inc. raised its position 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. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 214.3% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

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

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESSGet Free Report) 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 net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. The company had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 announced 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 was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.00.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Essex Property Trust

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,559.40. This trade represents a 45.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. This represents a 73.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS)

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