3,551 Shares in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Bought by Oak Thistle LLC

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 3,551 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $967,000. Essex Property Trust makes up about 0.7% of Oak Thistle LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 600.0% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth $31,000. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Monday, August 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $282.37.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,425,519.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $775,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,425,519.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,233 shares of company stock valued at $4,533,461. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of ESS opened at $298.21 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $284.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $263.36. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $203.85 and a one year high of $307.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.46, a PEG ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.85 by ($2.40). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.80%.

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.