Teacher Retirement System of Texas Raises Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1,768% in Q4 to 157,438 shares (about $41.2M), now owning roughly 0.24% of the company.
• Several other institutions — including UBS, Centersquare, Daiwa and M&T — also significantly increased positions, leaving institutional ownership at about 96.51% of the stock.
• Essex slightly missed quarterly EPS estimates ($3.98 vs. $4.00) but beat revenue, provided FY2026 EPS guidance of 15.69–16.19, raised its quarterly dividend to $2.59 (a 4.1% yield), and has a consensus analyst rating of Hold with a $281.63 price target.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 1,768.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 157,438 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 149,010 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.24% of Essex Property Trust worth $41,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 973.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 743,954 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $199,127,000 after acquiring an additional 674,617 shares during the period. Centersquare Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 473.5% in the third quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 516,756 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $138,315,000 after buying an additional 426,650 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 9.5% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,157,617 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $309,848,000 after acquiring an additional 100,730 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8,827.8% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 93,117 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $24,367,000 after acquiring an additional 92,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 98.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 175,688 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $47,025,000 after acquiring an additional 87,306 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of ESS opened at $255.27 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $238.46 and a 52-week high of $294.09. The stock has a market cap of $16.46 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.91 and a beta of 0.71. The firm's fifty day moving average is $250.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.00 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $479.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $474.66 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 35.48% and a return on equity of 11.61%. During the same quarter last year, the company 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. Research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $2.59 dividend. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is 99.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ESS shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $271.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $281.63.

Essex Property Trust Profile

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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