Quilter Plc Increases Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Quilter Plc boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 187.7% in Q4, adding 16,515 shares to hold 25,314 shares valued at about $6.624 million.
• Essex raised its quarterly dividend to $2.59 (annualized $10.36), implying a yield of about 4.2% with a payout ratio near 99.5%.
• The REIT marginally missed Q4 EPS ($3.98 vs. $4.00) but issued FY2026 guidance of 15.690–16.190 EPS; analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with a $282 target.

Quilter Plc lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 187.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,314 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 16,515 shares during the quarter. Quilter Plc's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $6,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter worth about $1,664,000. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the first quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 33.6% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,342 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $947,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,972,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 735,367 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $208,403,000 after purchasing an additional 8,132 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.0%

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $247.45 on Monday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $238.46 and a 12 month high of $307.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $251.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $256.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $15.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77, a PEG ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.71.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.02). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 35.48% and a return on equity of 11.61%. The business had revenue of $479.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $474.66 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.92 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 15.690-16.190 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 3.890-4.010 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. 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 dividend yield of 4.2%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 99.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $278.00 price target on Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $282.00.

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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