Royal Bank of Canada Sells 6,391 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.6%, holding approximately $51.82 million worth of shares after selling 6,391 shares in the first quarter.
• Essex Property Trust reported $4.03 EPS for the last quarter, slightly exceeding analyst expectations, and has set its Q3 2025 EPS guidance at 3.890-3.990.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.57 per share, resulting in an annualized rate of $10.28 and a dividend yield of 3.8%.

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 169,044 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 6,391 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.26% of Essex Property Trust worth $51,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 56.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 136 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 34.8% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 190 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ESS. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $301.50 to $305.50 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $283.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $298.41.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded up $5.79 during trading on Thursday, hitting $269.43. 288,054 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 374,098. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.85 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $17.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The business's 50 day moving average is $270.87 and its 200-day moving average is $280.87.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $465.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $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. Equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.64%.

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.