Millennium Management LLC Purchases 15,456 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC increased its investment in Essex Property Trust, Inc. by 23.2% in the first quarter, holding 81,952 shares valued at approximately $25.12 million.
• Essex Property Trust announced a quarterly dividend of $2.57 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.8% and a payout ratio of 82.64%.
• Analysts have varied outlooks on Essex Property Trust, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $298.41 for the stock.

Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 23.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,952 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 15,456 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Essex Property Trust worth $25,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,440,274 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,200,675,000 after purchasing an additional 87,117 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 66.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,746,242 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $841,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,619 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the first quarter worth about $384,606,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.6% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,247,133 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $382,334,000 after acquiring an additional 119,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.6% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 854,606 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $261,205,000 after acquiring an additional 52,793 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 1.0%

ESS traded down $2.66 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $264.43. 607,910 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 480,796. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $17.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.86 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $270.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $280.33. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $243.85 and a one year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.99 by $0.04. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 43.51%.The business had revenue of $465.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.94 EPS. 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 analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors 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 yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 82.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $301.50 to $305.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Truist Financial dropped their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $298.66.

Essex Property Trust 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.