Norges Bank Buys New Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Norges Bank bought a new position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,723,169 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $675,183,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 4.24% of Essex Property Trust at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. ING Groep NV increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 5,687 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,410,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 56.9% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 21,066 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,223,000 after acquiring an additional 7,638 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 95.4% in the fourth quarter. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,711,000. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 6,025 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS traded down $2.88 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $263.41. The stock had a trading volume of 361,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 392,882. The company's fifty day moving average is $245.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 3.19. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $203.85 and a 52 week high of $269.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.79.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 119.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ESS. Mizuho raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Bank of America raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $256.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $255.28.

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.