Nordea Investment Management AB Purchases 294 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. 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 position in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 104.5% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at $89,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1,247.2% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 485 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.1 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $272.83 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a PE ratio of 31.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $223.06 and a one year high of $317.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $294.15 and a 200 day moving average of $291.56.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. The firm had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.57 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $316.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James cut Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $305.17.

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.