Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESSFree Report) by 7.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,316 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.07% of Essex Property Trust worth $14,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. KBC Group NV increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 162.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 74,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,109,000 after acquiring an additional 46,354 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $541,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 237.7% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 54.2% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 8,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,537,000 after purchasing an additional 3,018 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after buying an additional 1,719 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James cut shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.11.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of ESS stock opened at $283.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.15, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $298.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.68. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.06 and a twelve month high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESSGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. The firm had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 114.49%.

About Essex Property Trust

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS)

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