Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Purchased by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 194.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,356 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 3,540 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 85.2% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ESS shares. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $355.00 target price (down previously from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price 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 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $310.83.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS traded up $0.34 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $283.88. The company had a trading volume of 327,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 418,402. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $279.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $286.91. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 37.08% and a return on equity of 11.81%. The business had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.37%.

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.