Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 1,762 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 8.9%, acquiring an additional 1,762 shares, bringing their total to 21,549 shares valued at $6,606,000.
• Essex Property Trust recently declared a quarterly dividend of $2.57, translating to an annualized dividend of $10.28 and a yield of 4.0%.
• Multiple analysts have adjusted their price targets for Essex Property Trust, with Piper Sandler lowering it from $355.00 to $275.00, while BMO Capital Markets raised it to $317.00 and maintained an "outperform" rating.

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 8.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,549 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 1,762 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $6,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ESS. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.6% in the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 985 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Gen Wealth Partners Inc increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,952 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:ESS traded down $1.99 on Friday, hitting $255.03. The stock had a trading volume of 118,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 493,603. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $281.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $285.14. The stock has a market cap of $16.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.85 and a 1 year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $465.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.47 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 43.51% and a return on equity of 13.98%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.94 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $308.26.

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.