Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,656 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $5,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 104.5% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $89,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on ESS shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho cut their target price on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on 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, BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $306.53.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.4 %

Essex Property Trust stock traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $290.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 356,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,951. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.06 and a fifty-two week 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 company has a market cap of $18.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $286.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.55.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 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.