Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,882 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,549 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.06% of Essex Property Trust worth $9,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 111.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 645.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tobam acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $247.74 on Thursday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $203.85 and a fifty-two week high of $252.85. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $15.91 billion, a PE ratio of 39.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $238.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.49.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a $2.45 dividend. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 155.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ESS shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Bank of America raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $275.00 in a report on Monday, April 1st. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 13th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $245.37.

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.