Bank of Nova Scotia Reduces Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,463 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,119 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $82,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth $112,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 52.9% in the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded down $2.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $254.48. 367,407 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 635,696. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.85 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The company has a market cap of $16.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46, a P/E/G ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $280.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $284.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

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

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ESS shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $301.50 to $305.50 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $308.26.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.