Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Invests $209,000 in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 842 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 632.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,719,000 after buying an additional 12,954 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 201.1% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $132,639,000 after buying an additional 357,268 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $3,304,000. JLP Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,802,000. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $249.76.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded down $3.17 on Wednesday, reaching $254.50. 163,396 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 401,434. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $258.06. The company has a fifty day moving average of $241.53 and a 200-day moving average of $233.61. The company has a market capitalization of $16.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.20, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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 paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.80%.

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.