Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Stock Position Increased by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,045 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 1,401 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $8,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position 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 worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its stake 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 valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Mizuho decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $310.28.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.2%

Essex Property Trust stock traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $286.52. 215,812 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 422,728. The company has a market cap of $18.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.78. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $283.16 and a 200-day moving average of $285.70.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is 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.