Van ECK Associates Corp Has $6.49 Million Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,190 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,301 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $6,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 111.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 645.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Tobam acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth $60,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ESS. StockNews.com raised Essex Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their target price 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. Mizuho upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $247.24.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $250.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.07 billion, a PE ratio of 30.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.79. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.85 and a 1 year high of $253.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $240.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $232.77.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $2.45 dividend. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.80%.

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.