Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Holdings Increased by Aew Capital Management L P

Aew Capital Management L P grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 307,744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 23,590 shares during the quarter. Essex Property Trust comprises 2.8% of Aew Capital Management L P’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Aew Capital Management L P’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $76,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 978,639 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $207,560,000 after buying an additional 55,903 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 828,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $175,651,000 after purchasing an additional 71,359 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 776,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $164,233,000 after purchasing an additional 89,198 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 643,250 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $136,427,000 after purchasing an additional 32,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 201.1% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $132,639,000 after purchasing an additional 357,268 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $245.37.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $246.92. 421,911 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 399,327. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.80. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $252.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $238.81 and a 200 day moving average of $231.80. The company has a current ratio of 3.26, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 155.31%.

Essex Property Trust 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.