Metis Global Partners LLC Grows Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 18.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $4,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 14.6% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 10,303 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 81,456 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,941,000 after buying an additional 2,083 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 107.9% during the 1st quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 43,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,723,000 after buying an additional 22,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centersquare Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 29.8% during the first quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 94,026 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,154,000 after acquiring an additional 21,584 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.00.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $302.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $209.17 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The stock has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.37, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $297.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $282.79.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). The business 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 firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 114.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total value of $2,308,430.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $817,661.35. The trade was a 73.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $730,627.59. The trade was a 52.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

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.