Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS Shares Sold by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH trimmed its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.5% in Q4, selling 10,494 shares and now holding 180,780 shares (~0.28%) valued at $47.52 million.
• Essex reported Q4 EPS of $3.98 (missed by $0.02) with revenue of $479.63 million beating estimates, and set FY2026 EPS guidance of 15.690–16.190 (analysts project ~16.03).
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $2.59 ($10.36 annual), implying a 4.1% yield and a payout ratio of 99.52%.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH trimmed its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,780 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 10,494 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.28% of Essex Property Trust worth $47,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $278.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $271.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $282.00.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of ESS stock opened at $252.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $16.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.21, a PEG ratio of 7.94 and a beta of 0.71. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $238.46 and a 1-year high of $294.09. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $250.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $254.94.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $479.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 previous year, the company 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.03 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $2.59 per share. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. 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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