Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 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 period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,041,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:ESS opened at $294.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.51, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.92. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $225.40 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $285.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $292.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ESS. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $306.63.

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.