Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Bought by Venturi Wealth Management LLC

Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 315.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,304 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Assetmark Inc. lifted 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 104.5% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ESS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $306.63.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.1 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $294.37 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $225.40 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $285.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.80.

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

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 84.92%.

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.