Leeward Investments LLC MA Has $8.66 Million Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Leeward Investments LLC MA lowered its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 30,336 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,055 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $8,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.7% during the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,041,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.0 %

ESS stock opened at $294.47 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $284.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $293.16. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $225.40 and a 52 week high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $2.57 dividend. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 84.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $306.63.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.