Heartland Advisors Inc. Reduces Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Heartland Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 27.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,855 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 10,366 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $7,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the first quarter worth about $1,664,000. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $223,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 70.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 186.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 33,614 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,526,000 after acquiring an additional 21,871 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.9% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,274 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,345,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total value of $167,670.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $669,003.30. This represents a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.1%

ESS stock opened at $284.59 on Thursday. The company's 50 day moving average is $264.52 and its 200 day moving average is $258.25. The stock has a market cap of $18.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 0.72. 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, 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 Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($2.31). The company had revenue of $484.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $479.89 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 30.03%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.97 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $2.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 116.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ESS. UBS Group lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $274.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $281.50 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $288.44.

Essex Property Trust Company 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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