Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Position Boosted by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 31,780 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $9,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $212,583,000 after purchasing an additional 633,200 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 27,120.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 425,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $115,881,000 after buying an additional 424,157 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $98,594,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $84,393,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 154.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 444,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $131,282,000 after acquiring an additional 269,923 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at $730,627.59. The trade was a 52.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total value of $2,308,430.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The trade was a 73.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,949 shares of company stock worth $5,663,763. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS opened at $299.91 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $298.08 and a 200-day moving average of $289.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.06 and a 12-month high of $317.73.

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

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

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.