Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Bought by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,230 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 988 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $4,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,072 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $508,381,000 after buying an additional 25,591 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,494,298 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $426,532,000 after acquiring an additional 70,785 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 183,947 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 754,179 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $222,800,000 after purchasing an additional 47,114 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 732.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 633,200 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of ESS stock traded up $2.15 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $313.72. The stock had a trading volume of 468,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 359,793. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.90 and a 12-month high of $317.73. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $287.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $306.63.

Essex Property Trust 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.