Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 31.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,684 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,250 shares during the quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $766,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 4,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,952 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $288.59 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.85 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a PE ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $284.62 and its 200-day moving average is $289.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. The company had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 98.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $329.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $312.17.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. The trade was a 26.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. This represents a 61.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. 3.46% of the stock is 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.