Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Has $976,000 Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lessened its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 50.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,303 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,303 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $976,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth $31,000. 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 buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.4 %

ESS opened at $300.59 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $19.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.12, a PEG ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $210.36 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $297.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $284.68.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 114.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ESS shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price target for the company. Raymond James downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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 note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,500. This represents a 48.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 in the company, valued at $730,627.59. This trade represents a 52.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663 over the last quarter. Company 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.