First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Buys 9,560 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 69.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,560 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $6,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 121.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $66,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total transaction of $2,308,430.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, 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 transaction of $735,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $817,661.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.8 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $296.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $19.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.26, a P/E/G ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day moving average of $296.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $275.60. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). The firm had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.26 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 9.14%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.77 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 119.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ESS shares. Wedbush raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.40.

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.