Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Cuts Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 277 shares during the quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 151.8% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 486 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 69.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 23,362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,902,000 after buying an additional 9,560 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 168.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 26,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,681,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $316,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $293.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.87, a PEG ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $296.92 and a 200 day moving average of $276.93.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). The business had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company posted $3.77 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.55 EPS for the current fiscal 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 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 3.34%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ESS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total transaction of $2,546,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,559.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $775,500. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total value of $2,546,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,559.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

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.