Millennium Management LLC Acquires 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 first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,952 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 15,456 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.13% of Essex Property Trust worth $25,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 543,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $166,589,000 after buying an additional 1,656 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 834.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 62,954 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $19,300,000 after acquiring an additional 56,214 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 100,209 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $29,497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 140.9% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 84,332 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $25,854,000 after acquiring an additional 49,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 227.0% in the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 4,123 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,264,000 after purchasing an additional 2,862 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE ESS traded up $2.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $267.81. 20,411 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 478,999. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.85 and a 12-month high of $316.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $269.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $279.90. The firm has a market cap of $17.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 6.80 and a beta of 0.83.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analysts' expectations of $466.47 million. During the same period in the previous 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, analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 82.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ESS shares. Piper Sandler lowered Essex Property Trust from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $355.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $335.00 to $298.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $298.66.

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.