Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Has $142,000 Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 23.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 572 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 108 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $476,588,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 15.0% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,712,755 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,419,056,000 after purchasing an additional 874,625 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 213.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 888,858 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $188,367,000 after purchasing an additional 604,863 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5,069.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 208,651 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,253,000 after purchasing an additional 204,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,614,782 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,667,195,000 after purchasing an additional 184,047 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ESS. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $215.00 to $281.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Raymond James raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Bank of America upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $245.37.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $235.17 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $237.40 and a 200-day moving average of $230.69. The company has a market capitalization of $15.10 billion, a PE ratio of 37.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 3.26. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.85 and a 52-week high of $252.85.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 155.31%.

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.