Venturi Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 315.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,304 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 990 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 9,824 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,804,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 505.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 5.0% during the fourth 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. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 12,139 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,465,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $2,082,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $294.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 456,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 479,438. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $285.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $225.40 and a 12 month high of $317.73.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $2.57 dividend. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on ESS. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.