Avanza Fonder AB Makes New Investment in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,056 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,443,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $508,381,000 after purchasing an additional 25,591 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $392,766,000 after purchasing an additional 183,947 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 754,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $222,800,000 after buying an additional 47,114 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.8% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 741,053 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $201,715,000 after buying an additional 6,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 732.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $212,583,000 after buying an additional 633,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.2 %

ESS stock opened at $283.20 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $293.18 and a 200-day moving average of $291.67. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $223.06 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 114.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America cut Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays initiated coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $316.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $305.42.

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.