132 Shares in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Purchased by Brooklyn Investment Group

Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 132 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $39,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.3% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 45,899 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,559,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1.4% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 82,949 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,437,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at about $236,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 74.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 68.2% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 136,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,249,000 after acquiring an additional 55,243 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:ESS opened at $310.46 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $297.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $287.00. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $211.35 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $19.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.27, a P/E/G ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. The firm had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 114.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ESS. BNP Paribas began coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America lowered Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,627.59. This represents a 52.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 73.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,949 shares of company stock valued at $5,663,763. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Essex Property Trust 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.