World Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $575,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% during 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 valued at $212,583,000 after acquiring an additional 633,200 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 27,120.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 425,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $115,881,000 after purchasing an additional 424,157 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $98,594,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $84,393,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake 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 during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $299.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a PE ratio of 34.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $298.31 and a 200-day moving average of $290.40. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $223.06 and a one year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). The company had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.00.

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.