Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. Takes $45,000 Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 158 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $45,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,041,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $291.36 on Wednesday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.06 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $286.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.52. 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 market cap of $18.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.92.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $306.53.

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.