Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 8.5%, now owning 174,727 shares worth approximately $53.57 million.
• Essex Property Trust reported an EPS of $4.03 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, along with a declared quarterly dividend of $2.57.
• Recent analyst ratings show a consensus "Hold" on Essex Property Trust with an average price target of $308.26, reflecting mixed opinions on the stock's performance.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 8.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 174,727 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 13,628 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.27% of Essex Property Trust worth $53,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $82,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 52.9% during the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock traded down $2.57 during trading on Monday, hitting $252.02. 437,271 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 627,620. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $280.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.01.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $465.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ESS. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Mizuho cut their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, 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 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 assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $308.26.

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.