New York Life Investment Management LLC Acquires 8,105 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 70.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,663 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 8,105 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $4,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 645.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Tobam purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of ESS opened at $250.21 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $203.85 and a fifty-two week high of $253.53. The firm has a market cap of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.59, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $239.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $232.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 3.19.

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 paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ESS shares. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $291.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Raymond James raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $247.24.

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.