M&T Bank Corp Has $1.90 Million Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 596.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 7,262 shares valued at about $1.9 million.
• Essex Property Trust reported Q1 earnings of $1.65 per share, well below the consensus estimate of $3.96, even though revenue came in slightly above expectations at $484.76 million.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $2.59 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.9%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a target price of $282.97.

M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 596.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,262 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 6,219 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 11.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 23,136 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,193,000 after buying an additional 2,395 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth about $1,900,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 3.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 594,450 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $159,114,000 after purchasing an additional 22,378 shares in the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 473.5% in the third quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 516,756 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $138,315,000 after purchasing an additional 426,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 23,100.0% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,552 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 2,541 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $263.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.63, a P/E/G ratio of 8.38 and a beta of 0.71. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $238.46 and a 1-year high of $294.09. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $252.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $255.15.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($2.31). The firm had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company posted $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $2.59 per share. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 116.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $278.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $271.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $281.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $282.97.

Essex Property Trust Profile

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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