Allianz Asset Management GmbH Has $42.60 Million Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 42.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 149,233 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,168 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.23% of Essex Property Trust worth $42,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $306.63.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.0 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $294.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.52, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $225.40 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $284.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $292.96.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. As a group, analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $2.57 dividend. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.92%.

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.