Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 12.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,752 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $675,183,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $761,760,000 after buying an additional 730,141 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 86.5% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 997,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $244,269,000 after acquiring an additional 462,828 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,832,845 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $448,701,000 after acquiring an additional 147,130 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 34.0% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 553,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $135,348,000 after acquiring an additional 140,294 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $775,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,519.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,233 shares of company stock worth $4,533,461 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ESS shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $268.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $244.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $282.37.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.6 %

ESS opened at $300.05 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $285.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $263.85. The company has a market capitalization of $19.27 billion, a PE ratio of 36.68, a PEG ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $203.85 and a 1-year high of $307.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.85 by ($2.40). The company had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $3.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.