Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Director Sells $2,308,430.38 in Stock

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total transaction of $2,308,430.38. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $817,661.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of ESS opened at $306.21 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $292.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $268.35. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.43, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business earned $3.77 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 119.80%.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 121.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas initiated 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.10.

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.