Danske Bank A S Purchases 4,338 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Danske Bank raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 10.4%, buying 4,338 shares to hold 45,944 shares (about 0.07% of the company) valued at roughly $12.0 million, and institutional investors own about 96.51% of the stock.
• Essex reported a sharp EPS miss for the quarter—$1.65 vs. $3.96 expected—while revenue slightly beat estimates, and management set Q2 guidance of $3.92–$4.04; analysts' consensus rating is "Hold" with a $280.72 price target.
• Dividend was increased to $2.59 quarterly (annualized $10.36) for a ~3.9% yield, though the payout ratio stands at an elevated 116.4%.

Danske Bank A S boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,944 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 4,338 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S owned approximately 0.07% of Essex Property Trust worth $12,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 9.5% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,157,617 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $309,848,000 after acquiring an additional 100,730 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.6% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 929,187 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $248,703,000 after acquiring an additional 5,483 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 882,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $233,668,000 after acquiring an additional 32,981 shares during the period. Resolution Capital Ltd increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.2% during the second quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 848,629 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $240,501,000 after acquiring an additional 26,661 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 7.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 786,774 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $210,588,000 after acquiring an additional 51,407 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered Essex Property Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $278.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $281.50 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $268.00 to $262.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $280.72.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.0%

ESS stock opened at $263.47 on Monday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $238.46 and a 1-year high of $294.09. The firm has a market cap of $16.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.60, a P/E/G ratio of 8.25 and a beta of 0.71. The business's 50 day moving average is $251.76 and its 200-day moving average is $254.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.89 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.03% and a return on equity of 10.00%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.03 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 given a dividend of $2.59 per share. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 116.40%.

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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