Allianz Asset Management GmbH Has $42.60 Million Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 42.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 149,233 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 44,168 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned 0.23% of Essex Property Trust worth $42,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased 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 valued at $212,583,000 after acquiring an additional 633,200 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $84,393,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 154.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 269,923 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 201.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,443,000 after buying an additional 150,927 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock traded up $2.94 on Tuesday, hitting $301.41. 357,170 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 479,160. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $285.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $293.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.92. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $225.40 and a one year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. On average, research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on ESS shares. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $306.63.

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.