Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,615 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 1,884 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Essex Property Trust worth $11,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ESS. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at about $82,000. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 85.2% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 52.9% in the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.1%

ESS traded down $0.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $287.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 310,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 381,874. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.85 and a twelve month 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. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $283.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $286.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.48, a PEG ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.78.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on ESS shares. Raymond James Financial raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group cut their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, June 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $310.94.

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.