KBC Group NV Trims Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• KBC Group NV cut its Essex Property Trust stake by 39.6% in the first quarter, selling 23,633 shares and ending with 36,019 shares valued at about $8.7 million.
• Several analysts raised price targets on ESS, and the stock now carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average target price of $299.08.
• Essex reported first-quarter EPS of $1.65, well below the $3.96 estimate, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $2.59 per share for a 3.5% yield.

KBC Group NV lessened its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 39.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,019 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 23,633 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.06% of Essex Property Trust worth $8,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth about $7,263,000. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 7.1% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 189,032 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $45,746,000 after buying an additional 12,560 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 60.4% in the first quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,068 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $743,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 7.1% in the first quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,111 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 19.6% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 4,876 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,180,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ESS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $281.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $273.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $299.08.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS opened at $293.05 on Thursday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $238.46 and a 1 year high of $303.35. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $284.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $264.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.93, a P/E/G ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($2.31). The company had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company posted $3.97 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.11 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $2.59 dividend. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

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 directly owned 2,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $669,003.30. This trade represents a 20.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.47% of the company's stock.

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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