Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Bought by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,658 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,913 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 2,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 111.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lincoln National Corp increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $255.88 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.19, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $203.85 and a 52 week high of $257.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $240.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.79.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $2.45 dividend. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. 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. Mizuho raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $227.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $249.76.

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.