Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 1,321 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 15.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,092 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 1,321 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the 4th 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 holdings in Essex Property Trust by 486.8% during the 4th 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. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 85.2% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 46.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $285.04 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.85 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $281.98 and a 200 day moving average of $286.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.83 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 98.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ESS. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays upped 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, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $310.28.

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.

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