Vert Asset Management LLC Raises Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Vert Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,366 shares during the period. Essex Property Trust comprises about 2.8% of Vert Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Vert Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $8,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,359 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,443,000 after buying an additional 150,927 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,469 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,559,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Raymond James downgraded Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.32.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $282.72 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $290.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $292.21. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.06 and a twelve month high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.58 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 114.49%.

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.