OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Buys 10,801 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Key Points

• OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 56.2%, owning a total of 30,022 shares valued at approximately $9.2 million following their recent purchase of 10,801 shares.
• Analysts have shown varying perspectives on Essex Property Trust's stock; Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target to $307, while UBS Group lowered theirs to $295, indicating mixed sentiments in the market.
• Essex Property Trust announced a quarterly dividend of $2.57 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.0%, reflecting the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 56.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,022 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 10,801 shares during the quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $9,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,758,174 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $500,688,000 after purchasing an additional 32,102 shares during the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $384,606,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,127,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $321,928,000 after buying an additional 404,892 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 957,038 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $273,173,000 after buying an additional 18,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 801,813 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $227,398,000 after buying an additional 24,936 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of 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. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $301.50 to $305.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $308.26.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded down $2.62 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $254.75. 688,440 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 493,519. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.85 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $282.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $285.53. 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 cap of $16.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.80.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $465.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.94 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 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.