Truist Financial Trims Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Target Price to $255.00

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) had its price objective cut by Truist Financial from $259.00 to $255.00 in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the real estate investment trust's stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Bank of America raised Essex Property Trust from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $281.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Raymond James raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $225.00 to $223.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $245.10.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE ESS traded up $6.09 on Tuesday, hitting $249.59. 314,798 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 403,329. The company's 50-day moving average price is $236.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 3.26 and a quick ratio of 3.26. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $203.85 and a 52-week high of $252.85. The company has a market capitalization of $16.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.80.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a $2.45 dividend. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 155.31%.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 632.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,001 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,719,000 after purchasing an additional 12,954 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,304,000. Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.2% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.2% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 27,246 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,779,000 after acquiring an additional 2,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,115 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.