1620 Investment Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $109,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 111.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 112.3% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Vima LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 15,050.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,425,519.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,425,519.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $290.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.85 and a 1 year high of $292.37. The stock has a market cap of $18.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $280.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $257.75.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 30.31%. The company had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.77 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on ESS shares. Mizuho raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $232.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Wedbush raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $266.75.

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.