Park Avenue Securities LLC Acquires 185 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,173 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $335,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew 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 worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 1,247.2% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 485 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on ESS. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.32.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS stock opened at $277.43 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.06 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $291.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.96.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results 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). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. The business had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 114.49%.

About Essex Property Trust

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.