Montag A & Associates Inc. Has $3.47 Million Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,139 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 162.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 74,841 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $22,109,000 after acquiring an additional 46,354 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 19,656 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,611,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $541,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 15,527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,516 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $306.63.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.2 %

ESS traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $291.31. 594,142 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 478,375. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 0.92. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $225.40 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $285.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust's 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.