Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Purchases 1,510 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 3.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 46,618 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,510 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $12,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $134,000. ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 5,687 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 256.0% in the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 2,111 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 236,140 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $58,549,000 after buying an additional 34,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Group LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $229,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on ESS shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. 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 report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $311.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $290.16 and a 200-day moving average of $267.29. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $203.85 and a 12 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 market capitalization of $20.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.14, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The firm had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.77 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.80%.

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.