305 Shares in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Purchased by Planned Solutions Inc.

Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 305 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $76,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ESS. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 7.6% in the first quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 635 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,405 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 89.4% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $241.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 3.26. The firm has a market cap of $15.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.25. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $198.29 and a fifty-two week high of $252.85.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 146.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ESS. Morgan Stanley upped 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 research report on Monday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $281.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Mizuho upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $260.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Raymond James raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $244.63.

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.