ING Groep NV Increases Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

ING Groep NV boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 54.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,018 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 214.3% during the 2nd 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 during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 121.8% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $817,661.35. This trade represents a 73.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS opened at $301.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.25, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $297.68 and a 200-day moving average of $283.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $209.17 and a 1-year high of $317.73.

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

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.00.

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.