Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Holdings Boosted by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 188,098 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 18,610 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.29% of Essex Property Trust worth $53,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 104.5% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth about $89,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock traded down $1.06 on Wednesday, reaching $290.53. 356,728 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 474,951. The firm has a market cap of $18.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.92. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.06 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company's 50-day moving average is $286.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.55.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share 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, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 84.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $306.53.

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.