Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Has $144,000 Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 151.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 486 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 69.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 23,362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,902,000 after purchasing an additional 9,560 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 168.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. Vert Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 26,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,681,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $316,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1,209.2% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 28,278 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,354,000 after buying an additional 26,118 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.40.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,627.59. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $809,325.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,627.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $299.96 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $19.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.67, a PEG ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $277.09. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $203.85 and a one year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.85 by ($2.40). The company had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 9.14%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.77 EPS. Research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 119.80%.

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.