Ritholtz Wealth Management Decreases Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Ritholtz Wealth Management reduced its stake in Essex Property Trust by 65.9%, owning 1,824 shares worth approximately $517,000 after selling 3,532 shares.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets on Essex Property Trust, with Morgan Stanley lowering theirs to $285.00, while Raymond James raised it to $315.00.
• Essex Property Trust declared a quarterly dividend of $2.57 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.0% and a dividend payout ratio of 82.64%.

Ritholtz Wealth Management lowered its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 65.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,824 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 3,532 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 300.0% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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. Raymond James Financial raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Essex Property Trust from $320.00 to $309.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Essex Property Trust from $298.00 to $297.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $297.09.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $259.69 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $16.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $263.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.54. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.85 and a 12-month high of $316.29.

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

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.64%.

About Essex Property Trust

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.

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