Entropy Technologies LP Acquires Shares of 2,442 Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 2,442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $721,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 214.3% during 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 during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in 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 worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $302.73 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $297.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $282.79. The company has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.37, a P/E/G ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $209.17 and a one year high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. The company had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ESS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 52.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,500. This represents a 48.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663 in the last ninety days. Corporate 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.