GAMMA Investing LLC Takes $125,000 Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 536 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $125,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 956 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 47.6% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 11,217 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 3,618 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1.8% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 35,333 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,494,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 12.9% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,099 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 173.9% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 135,008 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,634,000 after purchasing an additional 85,725 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of ESS stock opened at $246.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.13, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.80. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $203.85 and a one year high of $252.85. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $238.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $231.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 3.26 and a quick ratio of 3.26.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a $2.45 dividend. This is an increase 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 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 155.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $275.00 in a report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $281.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.