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 lessened its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 6.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $223,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 793,115 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $243,145,000 after acquiring an additional 14,601 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $1,664,000. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $331,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on ESS shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $279.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $320.00 to $309.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $298.66.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS stock traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, reaching $264.65. 133,722 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 479,517. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.85 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $270.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $280.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 6.86 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $465.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is 82.64%.

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.