Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Buys 257 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 128.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 457 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $476,588,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 15.0% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,712,755 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,419,056,000 after buying an additional 874,625 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 213.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 888,858 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $188,367,000 after buying an additional 604,863 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 201.1% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $132,639,000 after acquiring an additional 357,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 5,069.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 208,651 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,253,000 after acquiring an additional 204,615 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $275.00 in a report on Monday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $215.00 to $281.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $291.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $245.37.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $233.97 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.85 and a 52-week high of $252.85. The company has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average of $237.29 and a 200 day moving average of $230.51.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 155.31%.

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.