Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 13.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,283 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 358 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,083 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 225,045 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $55,093,000 after acquiring an additional 18,000 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $743,000. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $532,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,299,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of ESS opened at $301.76 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $209.17 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The stock has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $282.93.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.49%.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $730,627.59. This represents a 52.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. This trade represents a 48.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663 over the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ESS shares. Bank of America downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.00.

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.