Swiss National Bank Sells 9,200 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank trimmed its stake in Essex Property Trust by 4.7%, selling 9,200 shares and now holds 185,552 shares (0.29% of the company) valued at about $49.7 million.
• Institutional ownership is very high at 96.51%, with major investors—most notably Norges Bank (a new ~$239.4M stake), Centersquare, Daiwa, Boston Partners and Russell—significantly increasing their positions.
• Essex raised its quarterly dividend to $2.59 (annualized $10.36) for a ~4.1% yield, but the payout ratio is elevated at 98.75%; analysts maintain a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target of $282.

Swiss National Bank trimmed its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 185,552 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 9,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.29% of Essex Property Trust worth $49,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth $239,442,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 473.5% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 48.3% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,056,887 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $299,522,000 after purchasing an additional 344,287 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 28.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 860,854 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $243,910,000 after purchasing an additional 189,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 42.1% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 509,455 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $144,400,000 after purchasing an additional 150,869 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $278.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $282.00 price target (down from $304.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $278.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $282.00.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.4%

ESS stock opened at $251.17 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.25 and a fifty-two week high of $310.10. The business's 50-day moving average is $254.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.13, a P/E/G ratio of 7.85 and a beta of 0.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $479.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm 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. As a group, analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $2.59 per share. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.75%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ESS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.