Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Has $1.78 Million Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 251 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing 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 valued at approximately $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position 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 last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $313.72 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $287.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $294.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.90 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The firm has a market cap of $20.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.92.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. On average, analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $2.57 dividend. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 89.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lifted 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, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $306.63.

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.