Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Acquired by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,658 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 684 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in 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 valued at $132,639,000 after acquiring an additional 357,268 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 119.3% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 412,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $102,602,000 after purchasing an additional 224,554 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in 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 worth $44,253,000 after purchasing an additional 204,615 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in 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 valued at $164,233,000 after buying an additional 89,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 9.4% during 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 buying an additional 71,359 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $227.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $239.50 to $243.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $249.76.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $255.88 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $240.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.28. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $203.85 and a fifty-two week high of $257.93. The company has a market cap of $16.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 3.19.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 119.80%.

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.