Vanderbilt University Has $1.30 Million Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Vanderbilt University grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 32.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,547 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Vanderbilt University’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position 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 worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.32.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS stock opened at $296.24 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $287.79 and a 200-day moving average of $292.33. The company has a market cap of $19.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.60 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 1.13. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.06 and a 52 week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 114.49%.

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.