Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its stake in Essex Property Trust by 10.7%, selling 106,144 shares and now owning 887,996 shares (~1.38%) valued at about $232.37 million.
• Essex missed Q4 EPS slightly with $3.98 (vs. $4.00 estimate) on $479.63M revenue, set FY2026 EPS guidance of 15.69–16.19, and raised its quarterly dividend to $2.59 (annualized $10.36, ~4.1% yield) with a payout ratio of 99.52%.
• Wall Street has a consensus "Hold" on ESS with an average target of $282; the stock trades near $250 (market cap ~$16.1B, P/E ~24) and about 96.5% of shares are held by institutions.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 887,996 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 106,144 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 1.38% of Essex Property Trust worth $232,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 120.0% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 176 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $250.15 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average is $251.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $238.46 and a 12-month high of $294.09. The company has a market cap of $16.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.84 and a beta of 0.71.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.02). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 35.48% and a return on equity of 11.61%. The firm had revenue of $479.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $474.66 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.92 earnings per share. 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. Equities analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.59 per share. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ESS shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $271.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $278.00 price objective on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $278.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $282.00.

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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