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

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake 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 valued at $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 fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on ESS shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $306.63.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

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

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

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

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.