Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) CEO Sells $1,552,585.71 in Stock

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. This trade represents a 26.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of ESS stock traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $308.46. 275,846 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 358,154. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.90 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $287.44 and a 200 day moving average of $294.25. The firm has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a PE ratio of 26.73, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.92.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. Analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ESS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $306.63.

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.