Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Director Mary Kasaris Sells 2,800 Shares

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total value of $842,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $294.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $289.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $294.60. The stock has a market cap of $18.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.90 and a 1-year high of $317.73.

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

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ESS. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.16.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.