24,605 Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS Shares Sold by Vest Financial LLC

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC reduced its Essex Property Trust stake by 12.8%, selling 24,605 shares in the third quarter and retaining 167,205 shares valued at approximately $45 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 96.51%, while ESS traded near $274.45, within its $238.46–$303.35 12-month range.
• Essex reported quarterly EPS of $4.08, exceeding estimates of $1.46, and maintains a quarterly dividend of $2.59 per share, equivalent to a 3.8% annualized yield. Analysts hold a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $298.99.

Vest Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 167,205 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 24,605 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.26% of Essex Property Trust worth $45,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.7% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,766 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $745,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Revisor Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC now owns 897 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 24,899 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,708,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 787 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock opened at $274.45 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $276.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $276.79. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $238.46 and a 12-month high of $303.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $2.62. The firm had revenue of $489.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.12 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 7.33%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.03 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.930-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 16.030-16.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $2.59 per share. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 161.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ESS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Mizuho reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $295.00 price objective (down from $308.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $352.00 to $326.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Raymond James Financial raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $298.99.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust that owns, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily apartment communities. The company focuses on providing rental housing in high-demand markets and generates revenue primarily from apartment rents and related resident services.

Founded in 1971 and headquartered in San Mateo, California, Essex operates primarily in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Seattle metropolitan area.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.