Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,193,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 104.5% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of 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 period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:ESS opened at $284.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $18.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.25, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $294.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.71. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.06 and a 52 week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). The business had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 114.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ESS. Raymond James lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday. Mizuho dropped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $305.42.

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.