Bank of New York Mellon Corp Buys 6,613 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 452,509 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 6,613 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.70% of Essex Property Trust worth $138,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 85.2% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $286.54. The company had a trading volume of 528,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 425,388. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $283.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $285.71. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $243.85 and a one year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 37.08%. The company had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $458.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 98.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $355.00 target price (down previously from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $310.28.

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.