Achmea Investment Management B.V. Grows Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 39.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,772 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 8,420 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.'s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $9,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,353,157 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,955,205,000 after acquiring an additional 61,645 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,758,174 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $500,688,000 after buying an additional 32,102 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $471,258,000. Wealthquest Corp purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth $384,606,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 56.0% during 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 buying an additional 404,892 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ESS. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $310.28.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of ESS stock traded up $1.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $284.90. 673,684 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 421,746. The stock has a market cap of $18.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $282.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $285.83. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.03 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 37.08% and a return on equity of 11.81%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 98.37%.

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.