Savant Capital LLC Buys 111 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,049 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.7% during the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% during 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. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised 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 worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised 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 worth $4,041,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $306.53.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.2 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $288.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $225.40 and a one year high of $317.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.52 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $285.71 and its 200 day moving average is $292.73.

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

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 84.92%.

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.