Vest Financial LLC Lowers Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC reduced its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2.1% in Q4, selling 4,087 shares to hold 186,694 shares worth $48.85 million (about 0.29% of the company).
• The street consensus is a Hold rating with an average price target of $281.69; four analysts rate the stock Buy while fourteen rate it Hold, reflecting mixed sentiment.
• Essex raised its quarterly dividend to $2.59 (annualized $10.36) for a 4.0% yield, though the dividend payout ratio is very high at 99.52%.

Vest Financial LLC cut its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 186,694 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,087 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.29% of Essex Property Trust worth $48,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 57.5% during the third 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 in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 120.0% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 176 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at about $48,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ESS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Essex Property Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $281.69.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of ESS stock opened at $257.41 on Tuesday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $238.46 and a 12-month high of $294.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $251.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $254.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.01 and a beta of 0.71.

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 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $479.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.66 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $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. Equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a $2.59 dividend. 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 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.52%.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.

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.