California Public Employees Retirement System Acquires 204 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 221,108 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $54,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ESS. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 956 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 47.6% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 11,217 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 3,618 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.5% during the third quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 5,836 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.8% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 35,333 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,494,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 12.9% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,099 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of ESS opened at $247.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $203.85 and a 12-month high of $252.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.87 billion, a PE ratio of 39.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $238.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $231.60.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on ESS shares. StockNews.com lowered Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $227.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.