Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Increases Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 442.7% in Q3, adding 22,761 shares to hold 27,902 shares valued at about $7.47 million.
• Essex reported quarterly EPS of $3.98 (missing consensus by $0.02) with revenue of $479.6M (above estimates), and management set FY2026 guidance of 15.69–16.19 EPS with Q1 guidance of 3.89–4.01 EPS.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $2.59 ($10.36 annualized) for a yield of ~4.3%, though the dividend payout ratio is elevated at 98.75%.

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 442.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,902 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 22,761 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $7,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 57.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 6,957 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,919 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,458,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 900 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $240.63 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $253.48 and a 200-day moving average of $257.88. The stock has a market cap of $15.52 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $239.99 and a fifty-two week high of $310.10.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 35.48%.The company had revenue of $479.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.92 EPS. 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 research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.59 per share. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 98.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ESS. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $278.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $273.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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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