Ameriprise Financial Inc. Purchases 138,926 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 25.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 679,041 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 138,926 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 1.06% of Essex Property Trust worth $141,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Clear Street Markets LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 89.4% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. 92.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS opened at $225.22 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $237.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $195.03 and a 52 week high of $261.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.77.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 22nd Century Group reaffirmed a “maintains” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $247.00 to $244.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 12th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $280.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $252.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $243.30.

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.