IFM Investors Pty Ltd Sells 1,919 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd has reduced its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. by 6.9%, now holding 25,725 shares valued at approximately $7.89 million.
• Essex Property Trust experienced a 1.9% decline in stock price, with current trading at $263.83, amidst upcoming quarterly earnings reports.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.57, with a payout ratio of 82.64% and an annualized yield of 3.9%.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd trimmed its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,725 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,919 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $7,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ESS. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,629 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,014 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $860,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth $192,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 190.3% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 16,033 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,576,000 after purchasing an additional 10,510 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE ESS traded down $1.58 on Friday, reaching $267.23. 259,285 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 369,991. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.85 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $270.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $280.64. The company has a market cap of $17.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.91 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.04. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 43.51% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $465.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.94 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 3.890-3.990 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 15.800-16.020 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on ESS shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $301.50 to $305.50 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $283.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $320.00 to $309.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $298.41.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc, an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.