27,209 Shares in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Bought by Perigon Wealth Management LLC

Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 27,209 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $6,746,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 635 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 243 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,405 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,032,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 89.4% in the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 125 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ESS. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $227.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, 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 note on Monday, March 18th. Three 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $245.10.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock traded down $4.96 on Friday, hitting $239.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 375,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,035. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.85 and a 52-week high of $252.85. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $236.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $229.74. The company has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.80.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is 155.31%.

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.