Sigma Planning Corp Has $1.14 Million Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 40.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,988 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,145 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock opened at $298.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $284.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $293.29. 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 announced its quarterly 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 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. Research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $306.63.

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.