Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by KCM Investment Advisors LLC

KCM Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 3.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,280 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 121.8% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wedbush increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Raymond James cut Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.00.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.3 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $301.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a PE ratio of 35.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $209.17 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $297.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $283.30.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.49%.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total value of $2,308,430.38. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $817,661.35. This trade represents a 73.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total transaction of $2,546,008.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,559.40. This trade represents a 45.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

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.