Vest Financial LLC Has $51.06 Million Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Vest Financial LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 190,781 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,986 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $51,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,493,313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,973,805,000 after purchasing an additional 53,039 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,388,169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,540,570,000 after buying an additional 129,806 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 151,452.8% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,978,012 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $843,969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,976,047 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,825,007 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $515,226,000 after acquiring an additional 23,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 48.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 344,287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $257.65 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $257.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $263.24. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.25 and a 12-month high of $316.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $16.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.01. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 45.46%.The company had revenue of $473.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $472.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.91 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 3.930-4.030 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 15.890-15.990 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Essex Property Trust from $294.00 to $284.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $273.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $285.70.

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.