New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $12.16 Million Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,583 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $12,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 25,591 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,494,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $426,532,000 after purchasing an additional 70,785 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 183,947 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 47,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of ESS stock opened at $298.37 on Tuesday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $225.40 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $19.18 billion, a PE ratio of 25.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $284.89 and a 200-day moving average of $293.29.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. On average, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 84.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $306.63.

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.