ING Groep NV Has $1.41 Million Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

ING Groep NV increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 14.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,687 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 729 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 6.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 978,639 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $207,560,000 after buying an additional 55,903 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 9.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 828,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $175,651,000 after purchasing an additional 71,359 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 13.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 776,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $164,233,000 after purchasing an additional 89,198 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 689,608 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $170,981,000 after purchasing an additional 18,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 643,250 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $136,427,000 after purchasing an additional 32,706 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $264.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.79. 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 12-month low of $203.85 and a 12-month high of $269.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $246.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.23.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 119.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ESS. Bank of America upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Barclays upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $239.50 to $243.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $291.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $255.28.

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.