ABC Arbitrage SA Invests $2.08 Million in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,294 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $2,082,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ESS. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,072 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $508,381,000 after purchasing an additional 25,591 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $392,766,000 after buying an additional 183,947 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 6.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 754,179 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $222,800,000 after acquiring an additional 47,114 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 732.9% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 633,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 worth $131,282,000 after acquiring an additional 269,923 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS traded up $0.53 on Wednesday, reaching $291.31. The stock had a trading volume of 594,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 479,745. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $225.40 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.72 billion, a PE ratio of 25.24, a PEG ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $285.31 and a 200 day moving average of $292.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. Sell-side analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $306.63.

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.