Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Acquired by Consolidated Planning Corp

Consolidated Planning Corp increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 30.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,083 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $595,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 104.5% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on ESS shares. Raymond James lowered Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $306.53.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS stock opened at $290.53 on Thursday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.06 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $286.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $292.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.92%.

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.