USS Investment Management Ltd Has $4.62 Million Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

USS Investment Management Ltd decreased its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 30.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,166 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 7,242 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $4,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 4,624 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,320,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Gen Wealth Partners Inc grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,952 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 948 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $273.68 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $283.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $243.85 and a one year high of $317.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.62 billion, a PE ratio of 23.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The firm had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $458.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 98.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $312.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,303,393.38. This represents a 26.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. The trade was a 61.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. 3.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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