Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS Shares Sold by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Key Points

• Robeco Institutional Asset Management cut its stake in Essex by 11.5% in Q4 to 50,383 shares (about $13.18M), and institutional investors collectively own roughly 96.51% of the company.
• Essex raised its quarterly dividend to $2.59 (annualized $10.36), implying a 4.1% yield and a payout ratio of 99.52% with an ex‑dividend date of March 31.
• Analysts have a consensus Hold rating with an average target of $282; the company issued FY2026 EPS guidance of 15.69–16.19 and reported Q4 EPS of $3.98, slightly below estimates.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. decreased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 6,575 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.08% of Essex Property Trust worth $13,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 93.5% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,529 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,705 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,704 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,023,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the period. LDR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 120.7% during the 4th quarter. LDR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,852 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 3,201 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $302,000. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 6,383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,670,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $273.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut Essex Property Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $280.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $282.00.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS opened at $251.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $16.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 7.81 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $251.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $255.41. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $238.46 and a 1-year high of $294.09.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.00 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $479.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the company earned $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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued 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 is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 99.52%.

About Essex Property Trust

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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