Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,900 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $967,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 645.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 231 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Tobam bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 327.1% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ESS. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. Mizuho raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and set a $227.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $291.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $245.37.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.2 %

ESS traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $247.21. 462,379 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 399,036. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $203.85 and a 1-year high of $252.85. The stock's 50-day moving average is $238.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.60. The stock has a market cap of $15.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.18, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 155.31%.

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.