Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Acquired by Golden State Equity Partners

Golden State Equity Partners increased its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,690 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 732.9% during 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 valued at $212,583,000 after buying an additional 633,200 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $84,393,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 154.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 444,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $131,282,000 after buying an additional 269,923 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $392,766,000 after buying an additional 183,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ESS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays reduced their price target on Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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, January 24th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.32.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of ESS opened at $284.32 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $288.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.25. The stock has a market cap of $18.27 billion, a PE ratio of 33.22, a P/E/G ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 0.92. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.06 and a 12 month high of $317.73. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

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.