Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $16.70 Million in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 58,515 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $16,703,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Essex Property Trust as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 803 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,041,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 948 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted 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 note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $306.63.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded up $2.15 during trading on Monday, hitting $313.72. 468,302 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 359,793. 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 company has a market cap of $20.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $287.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $294.08. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.90 and a 52-week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

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.