Leeward Investments LLC MA Cuts Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Leeward Investments LLC MA cut its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 20.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 8,128 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $9,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 121.8% during 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. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $296.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.06 billion, a PE ratio of 34.64, a PEG ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $297.44 and a 200 day moving average of $280.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $204.64 and a one year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. The business had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 114.49%.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total transaction of $2,308,430.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $817,661.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,627.59. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total transaction of $2,308,430.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $817,661.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663 over the last 90 days. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.40.

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.