Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Sells 8,902 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Asset Management One trimmed its stake in Essex Property Trust by 7%, selling 8,902 shares and leaving it with 118,126 shares worth about $31.07 million (≈0.18% ownership).
• Essex reported Q4 EPS of $3.98 (missed by $0.02) while revenue of $479.6 million beat expectations, and it set FY2026 guidance of 15.690–16.190 EPS (consensus ~15.96).
• Essex increased its quarterly dividend to $2.59 (annualized $10.36), implying a yield of ~4.1% and a payout ratio of about 99.5%.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 118,126 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 8,902 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned about 0.18% of Essex Property Trust worth $31,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ESS. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 57.5% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 120.0% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 176 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 2.7%

ESS opened at $254.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm's fifty day moving average is $251.17 and its 200 day moving average is $255.16. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $238.46 and a fifty-two week high of $294.09.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.00 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $479.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $474.66 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 35.48%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.92 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 15.690-16.190 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 3.890-4.010 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $2.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 99.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Essex Property Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $305.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Essex Property Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $271.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $282.00.

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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