Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS Position Lessened by National Pension Service

Key Points

• National Pension Service cut its stake in Essex Property Trust by 73.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 96,654 shares and leaving it with 34,701 shares worth about $9.08 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on ESS remains cautious: analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $284.50, even after several firms raised their targets modestly.
• Essex Property Trust reported Q1 earnings of $1.65 per share, well below the $3.96 consensus estimate, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $2.59 per share, yielding about 3.8% annually.

National Pension Service trimmed its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 73.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,701 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 96,654 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.05% of Essex Property Trust worth $9,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 57.5% during 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 position 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 worth $46,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth $51,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $273.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $272.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $284.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.47% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $272.90 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $17.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.66, a P/E/G ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 0.72. The stock's 50-day moving average is $258.26 and its 200-day moving average is $256.74. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $238.46 and a 52-week high of $294.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($2.31). The business had revenue of $484.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $2.59 dividend. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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