Signet Financial Management LLC Has $284,000 Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Signet Financial Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,146 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 43 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,614,782 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,667,195,000 after purchasing an additional 184,047 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,712,755 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,419,056,000 after purchasing an additional 874,625 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $476,588,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,473,346 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $307,504,000 after acquiring an additional 29,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,137,193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $237,835,000 after acquiring an additional 68,857 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 recently commented on ESS. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $291.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $245.37.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $232.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.80. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $252.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $237.20 and a 200-day moving average of $230.48. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.