BlackRock Inc. Invests $2.17 Billion in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,430,141 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $2,166,555,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 11.56% of Essex Property Trust at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 814 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 913 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 6,957 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,862,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,537 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $664,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1.7% during 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 buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ESS shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $296.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $304.79.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS stock opened at $287.22 on Thursday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $238.46 and a 12 month high of $303.35. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $288.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $269.25. The firm has a market cap of $18.46 billion, a PE ratio of 44.67, a P/E/G ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current 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 results on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $2.62. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 7.33%. The firm had revenue of $489.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.03 EPS. 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. Equities research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

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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