Vert Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Vert Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,366 shares during the quarter. Essex Property Trust makes up about 2.8% of Vert Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Vert Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $8,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $508,381,000 after buying an additional 25,591 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% during 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 6.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 47,114 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 732.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 154.7% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 444,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $131,282,000 after buying an additional 269,923 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ESS shares. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.32.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock opened at $282.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.03, a PEG ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $290.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $292.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.06 and a 12-month high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). The business had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

About Essex Property Trust

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.