Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Sells 241 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lessened its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 241 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ESS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $675,183,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $761,760,000 after purchasing an additional 730,141 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 86.5% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 997,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $244,269,000 after buying an additional 462,828 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,832,845 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $448,701,000 after purchasing an additional 147,130 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 553,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $135,348,000 after purchasing an additional 140,294 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total transaction of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,425,519.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,233 shares of company stock worth $4,533,461. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ESS. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $282.37.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.6 %

ESS opened at $300.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $285.49 and its 200-day moving average is $263.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.85 and a 52-week high of $307.75.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.77 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.80%.

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.