Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS Position Increased by National Pension Service

National Pension Service increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 131,355 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 6,955 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $35,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 351.6% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,981 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,080,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,958 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,327,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.4% during the third quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 45,087 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,016,000 after buying an additional 2,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 27,619 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on ESS shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $305.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Barclays reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $292.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $294.00 to $284.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $285.70.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:ESS opened at $248.58 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $16.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.73. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.25 and a twelve month high of $316.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $256.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $261.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.12%.

Essex Property Trust Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc (NYSE: ESS) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on market-rate apartment communities and delivers a full suite of property services including leasing, resident services, asset management, and capital improvement programs designed to preserve and enhance long‑term property values.

Essex concentrates its portfolio in West Coast markets, with a significant presence in California and the Pacific Northwest.