Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Bought by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 221,108 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.34% of Essex Property Trust worth $54,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,913 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $474,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 2,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $633,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 111.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.6% in the third quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.2% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,265 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.2 %

ESS stock opened at $247.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.26, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $252.85. The company’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 P/E ratio of 39.18, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.80.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 155.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ESS. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $227.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $245.37.

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.