JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $222.54 Million Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 65.1%, owning about 1.13% of the company valued at $222.5 million.
• Several other investors also boosted their holdings, with 96.51% of Essex Property Trust's stock now owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• Analysts have mixed views on Essex Property Trust, with target price adjustments ranging from $279 to $307, reflecting a general consensus of a "Hold" rating.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 65.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 725,896 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 286,345 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 1.13% of Essex Property Trust worth $222,538,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,098 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $7,027,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $248,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 4,684 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $35,701,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $285.00 to $279.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $301.50 to $305.50 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $302.86.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS stock traded up $3.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $259.56. 378,401 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 634,091. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.86, a P/E/G ratio of 6.67 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $278.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $284.16. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.85 and a 12 month high of $317.73.

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

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.