Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 2,740 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Fisher Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,256 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,740 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ESS. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Scotiabank upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.00.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related 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 transaction of $809,325.09. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,627.59. This trade represents a 52.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total value of $2,546,008.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,559.40. This trade represents a 45.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,949 shares of company stock valued at $5,663,763. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.0 %

ESS stock opened at $312.84 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $210.36 and a twelve month 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 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $20.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.55, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $297.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $286.65.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.49%.

Essex Property Trust 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.