Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Holdings Raised by Entropy Technologies LP

Entropy Technologies LP lifted its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 296.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,686 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 7,244 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,675 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 162.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 74,841 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $22,109,000 after buying an additional 46,354 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $541,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 92.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $828,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 54.2% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 8,587 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,537,000 after purchasing an additional 3,018 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $306.53.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of ESS traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $290.53. 356,728 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 474,951. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $292.55. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.06 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $18.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.92.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.92%.

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.