abrdn plc Boosts Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

abrdn plc boosted its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 219.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100,310 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 68,951 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned approximately 0.16% of Essex Property Trust worth $24,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,913 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. 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. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 5.2% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,265 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 8.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 956 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, WealthTrust Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 6.5% in the third quarter. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.9 %

ESS opened at $242.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 3.26 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $237.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $231.38. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $203.85 and a 12 month high of $252.85.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.05%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 155.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $281.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given 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 price target of $245.37.

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.