Savant Capital LLC Takes $230,000 Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 926 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,913 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 111.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lincoln National Corp lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 6.6% in the third quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.9 %

ESS stock opened at $257.67 on Wednesday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $258.06. The company has a quick ratio of 3.19, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $16.54 billion, a PE ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $241.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.61.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Bank of America raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Truist Financial cut 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 report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.