KBC Group NV Acquires 150,927 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 201.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 150,927 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned 0.35% of Essex Property Trust worth $64,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,469 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,559,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 13,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,766,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $277.43 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $290.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $292.10. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.06 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The stock has a market cap of $17.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.41, a PEG ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. The firm had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on ESS shares. Raymond James downgraded Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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 upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.32.

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.