Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC trimmed its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,934 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 136 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to 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 %

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $294.47 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 52-week low of $225.40 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $284.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.16.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 84.92%.

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.