Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Position Reduced by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC reduced its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 1.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 16,141 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $4,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 4.7% during the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 8,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 7.4% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 781 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.3% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,636,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $297.70 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.06 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $297.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.89. The firm has a market cap of $19.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.77, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.49%.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $817,661.35. This trade represents a 73.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,949 shares of company stock valued at $5,663,763. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ESS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.00.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.