735 Shares in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Purchased by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 735 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ESS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $316.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.11.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 3.4 %

ESS stock opened at $283.99 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.06 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $298.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. The business had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 114.49%.

About Essex Property Trust

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.