Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Stock Holdings Reduced by Loudon Investment Management LLC

Loudon Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 315 shares during the period. Essex Property Trust comprises about 2.5% of Loudon Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Loudon Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $4,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ESS. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth $31,000. Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $244.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $281.25.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE ESS traded down $3.80 on Friday, reaching $298.21. 463,167 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 374,809. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $203.85 and a 12 month high of $307.75. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $284.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $262.95. The company has a market cap of $19.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.88. 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 (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.77 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 119.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total transaction of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,425,519.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,641,895.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total transaction of $2,745,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,425,519.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 16,233 shares of company stock valued at $4,533,461. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

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.