Vanderbilt University Acquires 1,113 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Vanderbilt University boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 32.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,547 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Vanderbilt University’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $508,381,000 after acquiring an additional 25,591 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $392,766,000 after purchasing an additional 183,947 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 754,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $222,800,000 after purchasing an additional 47,114 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $212,583,000 after purchasing an additional 633,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 154.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 444,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $131,282,000 after purchasing an additional 269,923 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $296.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.04 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61, a P/E/G ratio of 6.60 and a beta of 0.92. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $223.06 and a one year high of $317.73. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $287.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $292.33.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.58 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ESS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.32.

Essex Property Trust 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.