Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires New Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management acquired 226,319 shares of Essex Property Trust worth approximately $66 million, gaining a 0.35% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 96.51% of ESS.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with the stock receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $304.79, above its reported $287.22 price.
• Essex exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $4.08 in EPS versus a $1.46 consensus estimate and revenue of $489.05 million. The company issued third-quarter 2026 EPS guidance of $3.93–$4.05 and full-year guidance of $16.03–$16.25.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 226,319 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $65,992,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.35% of Essex Property Trust at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,873,698 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $488,601,000 after acquiring an additional 22,835 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,679,607 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $439,520,000 after acquiring an additional 301,349 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,157,617 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $309,848,000 after acquiring an additional 100,730 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 995,810 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $240,989,000 after purchasing an additional 57,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 958,090 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $250,714,000 after purchasing an additional 228,165 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Citizens Jmp raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $330.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $292.75 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $310.00 to $352.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $304.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $669,003.30. This represents a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.47% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of ESS opened at $287.22 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $288.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $269.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $18.46 billion, a PE ratio of 44.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.69. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $238.46 and a fifty-two week high of $303.35.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $2.62. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 21.48%.The company had revenue of $489.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.03 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.930-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 16.030-16.250 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.17 EPS for the current year.

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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