Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 14,255 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 6.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 223,211 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 14,255 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.35% of Essex Property Trust worth $65,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. increased 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total transaction of $2,546,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,559.40. The trade was a 45.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,949 shares of company stock worth $5,663,763 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $300.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $222.30 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.59. The company has a market capitalization of $19.29 billion, a PE ratio of 35.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.90.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 114.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ESS. BNP Paribas started 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.00.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.