Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $392.77 Million Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESSFree Report) by 16.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 183,947 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 2.07% of Essex Property Trust worth $392,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 121.8% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,627.59. This represents a 52.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,500. This trade represents a 48.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Raymond James lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America cut Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. One 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.00.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $304.54 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $210.36 and a 52 week high of $317.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $297.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $284.82. The company has a market capitalization of $19.57 billion, a PE ratio of 35.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESSGet Free Report) 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). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. The firm had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 114.49%.

About Essex Property Trust

(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.

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

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