Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Essex Property Trust by 57.1% in the first quarter, leaving it with 2,676 shares valued at about $648,000.
• Essex Property Trust reported first-quarter earnings of $1.65 per share, well below the $3.96 consensus estimate, even as revenue came in slightly above expectations at $484.76 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.59 per share, payable July 15, implying an annualized yield of about 3.5%; meanwhile, analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Hold” with an average price target of $292.08.

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 57.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,676 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 3,555 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth $799,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,047 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Vanderbilt University lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanderbilt University now owns 4,594 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,550,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 45.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 91,254 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $22,083,000 after purchasing an additional 28,527 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ESS. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group set a $290.00 price target on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $292.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,394 shares in the company, valued at $669,003.30. This trade represents a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.47% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 3.4%

ESS opened at $295.38 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $238.46 and a 12-month high of $295.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.98 billion, a PE ratio of 33.19, a P/E/G ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 0.72. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $272.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $259.96.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($2.31). The company had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.89 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 30.03%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $2.59 dividend. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 116.40%.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc NYSE: ESS is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on market-rate apartment communities and delivers a full suite of property services including leasing, resident services, asset management, and capital improvement programs designed to preserve and enhance long‑term property values.

Essex concentrates its portfolio in West Coast markets, with a significant presence in California and the Pacific Northwest.

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