Czech National Bank Buys 55 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 111.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 645.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.7 %

ESS stock opened at $278.02 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.70. The company has a quick ratio of 3.19, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.84. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $284.77.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 119.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $244.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $232.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Raymond James raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $257.28.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,519.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

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.