Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,494,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 70,785 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 2.33% of Essex Property Trust worth $426,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $212,583,000 after purchasing an additional 633,200 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth $84,393,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 154.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 444,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $131,282,000 after purchasing an additional 269,923 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $392,766,000 after purchasing an additional 183,947 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,443,000 after purchasing an additional 150,927 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $288.09 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $285.71 and a 200-day moving average of $292.63. The firm has a market cap of $18.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.92. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $225.40 and a 1-year 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 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ESS. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James cut Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $306.53.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.