J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Increases Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG significantly increased its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. by 222.4% during the first quarter, acquiring 11,491 shares valued at approximately $3.5 million.
• Essex Property Trust reported strong earnings with $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and a revenue of $465.84 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.57, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 4.0%, amidst a dividend payout ratio of 82.64%.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 222.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,491 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 7,927 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 4,624 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.6% during the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 985 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,952 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.3% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 778 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 4.3% during the first quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 1,217 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ESS shares. Mizuho lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Essex Property Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $308.26.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.1%

Essex Property Trust stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $257.10. 84,562 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 490,040. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $282.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.53. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $243.85 and a one year high of $317.73. The company has a market cap of $16.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.64, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.80. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.04. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 43.51% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $465.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.94 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.64%.

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.