Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Acquired by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 60.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,633 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ESS. Continuum Advisory LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 121.8% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $294.64 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $203.85 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a PE ratio of 36.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $293.76 and a 200-day moving average of $269.93.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.26 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 30.31%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $730,627.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $809,325.09. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,627.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total value of $2,546,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,559.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ESS shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.40.

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.