Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Stock Holdings Boosted by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 112.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,254 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 5,965 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS stock traded up $2.94 on Tuesday, reaching $301.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 357,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 479,160. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $225.40 and a 52 week high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $19.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $284.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $293.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. As a group, analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ESS. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho cut their price objective on 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.