Ritholtz Wealth Management Grows Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 194.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,356 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,540 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 486.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 85.2% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $284.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.34 billion, a PE ratio of 24.69, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $279.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $286.94. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.85 and a 12 month high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.83 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 98.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.83.

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.