Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lowered its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,662 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 85 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 732.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $212,583,000 after purchasing an additional 633,200 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 27,120.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 425,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $115,881,000 after buying an additional 424,157 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $98,594,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $84,393,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 154.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 444,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $131,282,000 after acquiring an additional 269,923 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total transaction of $2,308,430.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $817,661.35. This trade represents a 73.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,627.59. This represents a 52.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,949 shares of company stock worth $5,663,763. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $299.79 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $298.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.02, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.90. 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 $223.06 and a 1-year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued 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). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. The business had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ESS shares. Bank of America downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. One investment 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 a consensus target price of $297.00.

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.