4,902 Shares in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Acquired by S Bank Fund Management Ltd

Key Points

• S Bank Fund Management Ltd acquired 4,902 shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. valued at approximately $1.5 million during Q1, indicating growing interest among institutional investors.
• Essex Property Trust's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $4.03, surpassing analysts' estimates and reflecting a strong net margin of 43.51%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.57 per share, providing an annualized yield of 4.0%, with a payout ratio of 82.64%.

S Bank Fund Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,902 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,503,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,440,274 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,200,675,000 after purchasing an additional 87,117 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $384,606,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,127,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $321,928,000 after purchasing an additional 404,892 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 957,038 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $273,173,000 after purchasing an additional 18,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 801,813 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $227,398,000 after purchasing an additional 24,936 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock traded up $3.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $259.56. 378,401 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 634,091. The stock has a market cap of $16.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.86, a PEG ratio of 6.67 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.85 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $278.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $284.16.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $465.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.47 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 43.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.94 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $285.00 to $279.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $320.00 to $309.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $335.00 to $298.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $302.86.

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.