Amalgamated Bank Has $4.04 Million Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,282 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $4,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 6.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 978,639 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $207,560,000 after buying an additional 55,903 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 828,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $175,651,000 after buying an additional 71,359 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 776,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $164,233,000 after buying an additional 89,198 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 643,250 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $136,427,000 after buying an additional 32,706 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 201.1% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $132,639,000 after buying an additional 357,268 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $254.50 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.19, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $203.85 and a 12-month high of $258.06. The company has a market cap of $16.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $241.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.61.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ESS shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Bank of America raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $275.00 in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $249.76.

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.