Truist Financial Corp. Purchases Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares

The most recent 13F filing, Trust Financial Corp. filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, revealed that the company increased the number of shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESS) it owns during the third quarter. The company now owns 21,403 shares of Real Estate Investment Trust as it purchased 3,190 additional shares during the quarter, bringing the total number of shares it owns to 21,403. The latest report that Trust Financial Corp. submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission, points out that the value of his interest in the Essex Property Trust has been set at $5,184,000.

Recently, several other hedge funds have changed the percentage of their assets made up of ESS. Millennium Management LLC’s investment portfolio saw its holdings in Essex Property Trust increase in value by 377.8 percent in the second quarter. As a result of the Company’s purchase of an additional 400,270 shares during the period, it now holds 506,231 shares of Real Estate Investment Trust. These shares have a total value of $132,384,000 as a result of the Company’s investment. During the second quarter, Waterfront Capital Partners LLC increased its interest in Essex Property Trust by purchasing additional shares; This brought the total value of his investment in the company to approximately $74,981,000. During the first three months of 2018, Vanguard Group Inc. increased the number of shares it owned in Essex Property Trust by 1.8%, bringing the total number of shares it owned in the REIT to a total of 1.9 % increased. Following additional purchases during the period, Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,614,782 shares of Real Estate Investment Trust. These additional shares were purchased during the period. These shares are currently trading at $3,667,195,000 in the market.

During the second quarter, Renaissance Technologies LLC achieved a 182.0% increase in the number of Essex Property Trust shares it owned. Renaissance Technologies LLC owns 173,526 shares of the Real Estate Investment Trust after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares during the period. These shares have an estimated value of $45,379,000. During the second fiscal quarter, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased the percentage of shares it owned in Essex Property Trust by 3.3%. Principal Financial Group Inc. now holds a total of 3,008,123 shares of Real Estate Investment Trust having purchased an additional 96,432 shares during the period in question. These shares are currently valued at a combined value of $786,657,000. Most of the shares are owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors, who together own 91.76 percent of the shares.

A variety of analysts have recently shown interest in ESS stock, which has attracted a lot of attention lately. In a report published on Nov. 30, Trust Financial lowered its buy rating and price target on Essex Property Trust to $247.00 from $324.00. The report dealt with a previous rating that Trust Financial had assigned to Essex Property Trust. In a research report published on Nov. 10, Barclays lowered its rating on Essex Property Trust to underweight from overweight and lowered its price target on the company to $219 from $300. Both changes have been made. In a research note published on Nov. 14, Bank of America lowered its price target on Essex Property Trust to $233.00 from $265.00 and changed the company’s rating to neutral from a buy. Janney Montgomery Scott has downgraded Essex Property Trust to a neutral rating from a buy and has set a price target for the company of $241.00. On Thursday, December 14th, the public was granted access to a research note that was made available. In a research note published on Friday, October 28, Piper Jaffray lowered its price target on Essex Property Trust to $250.00 from $297.00 and downgraded the stock from overweight to neutral. There have been four research analysts who have advised investors to sell the stock, eleven who have recommended that investors keep it in their portfolios, and six who have advised investors to buy the stock. According to Bloomberg, most analysts are currently recommending a Hold on the stock and their average price target is $254.70. This price target is based on the current price of the stock.

NYSE: ESS began trading at $220.50 a share on Friday. The company’s $14.28 billion market cap can be attributed to several factors, including its price-to-earnings ratio of 39.95, its price-to-earnings-to-growth ratio of 1.91, and its beta of 0 ,72. The quick ratio for Essex Property Trust, Inc. is 1.13; the company’s current ratio is 1.13; and the company’s 52-week highs and lows are both $363.36. The debt to equity ratio for Essex Property Trust, Inc. is 0.05 and the quick ratio and current ratio are both 1.13. The 50-day simple moving average of the company’s share price is $213.27 and the 200-day simple moving average is $243.23.

In addition, the company announced that it has approved the payment of a quarterly dividend, which will be paid starting on the 13th of this month. On January 3, 2018, a dividend payment of $2.20 will be made to shareholders whose record date is the previous day, January 3. That equates to an annual dividend payment of $8.80 and a dividend yield of 3.90%. This dividend will be forfeited to shareholders whose accounts are not in good standing as of December 30th, the following Friday. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 159.42%.

Amal M. Johnson, a director of the Essex Property Trust, bought 500 shares of the company on Friday December 2nd in addition to the purchase. The total investment required to purchase the shares was $109,220.00, representing an average price of $218.44 per share. As a direct result of the previous transaction, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company. At the market price they are currently trading at, these shares are valued at $436,880. The transaction was disclosed to the public through a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed online. 3.70 company insiders own one percent of the total currently outstanding shares.