Insider Selling: Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) CAO Sells $809,325.09 in Stock

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,627.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS opened at $306.21 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $19.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.43, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $292.19 and a 200 day moving average of $268.35. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $203.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results 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). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 30.31%. The firm had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.77 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ESS. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.10.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESS. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 81,456 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,941,000 after buying an additional 2,083 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 8.7% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 225,045 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,093,000 after acquiring an additional 18,000 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 107.9% during the first quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 43,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,723,000 after acquiring an additional 22,736 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 62,067 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,389,000 after purchasing an additional 5,887 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $743,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.