Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Purchased by Consolidated Planning Corp

Consolidated Planning Corp boosted its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 30.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,083 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. Consolidated Planning Corp’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $384,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1,247.2% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 485 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 539 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,166 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,822,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stableford Capital II LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $486,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE ESS opened at $290.53 on Thursday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $223.06 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $18.67 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $286.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $292.55.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 84.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $306.53.

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.