Korea Investment CORP Decreases Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Korea Investment CORP lessened its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 15,765 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $5,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth $1,664,000. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at $223,000. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 22.4% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,272 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $228,000. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 42.5% during the 2nd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 3,211 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $273.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $278.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $278.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday, February 9th. 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, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $282.00.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.4%

ESS opened at $251.17 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $243.25 and a one year high of $310.10. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $16.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.85 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $254.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $258.76.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its 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). The firm 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 period 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. Analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $2.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.