Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Position Decreased by Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 941 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 41 shares during the period. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 132,317 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,635,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Consolidated Planning Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 2,083 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. Certuity LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on ESS shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $306.53.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:ESS opened at $288.09 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $225.40 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The firm has a market cap of $18.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 6.93 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. The company’s 50 day moving average is $285.71 and its 200-day moving average is $292.55.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. 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.