Andra AP fonden Lowers Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Andra AP fonden cut its stake in Essex Property Trust by 71.5% in Q1, selling 43,358 shares and leaving it with 17,262 shares worth about $4.18 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 96.51% of the stock. Several firms recently increased their positions, including Norges Bank and Principal Financial Group.
• Analysts remain generally positive on ESS, with a Moderate Buy consensus and average price target of $299.08. The stock also pays a quarterly dividend of $2.59 per share, equal to a 3.5% yield.

Andra AP fonden lowered its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 71.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,262 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 43,358 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $4,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 255,533 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $66,868,000 after purchasing an additional 6,422 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $230,690,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 160,122 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $41,901,000 after buying an additional 36,293 shares during the period. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 548,017 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $143,405,000 after buying an additional 31,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,679,607 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $439,520,000 after buying an additional 301,349 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group set a $290.00 price target on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $299.08.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $293.05 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $284.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $264.49. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $18.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.70. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $238.46 and a one year high of $303.35.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($2.31). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 30.03%.The firm had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $479.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.97 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total value of $167,670.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $669,003.30. This represents a 20.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essex Property Trust 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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