Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Sold by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,825 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $8,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $675,183,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $761,760,000 after acquiring an additional 730,141 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 86.5% during 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. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 119.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 412,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $102,602,000 after purchasing an additional 224,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,832,845 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $448,701,000 after purchasing an additional 147,130 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ESS shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $232.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $266.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total transaction of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,425,519.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,425,519.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS traded up $1.21 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $285.22. 93,213 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 379,567. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $203.85 and a 52 week high of $292.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $278.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $256.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 3.19. The company has a market cap of $18.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.72, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.86.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 EPS 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 analyst estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $3.77 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.