Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS Shares Sold by Davis Selected Advisers

Davis Selected Advisers cut its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 40.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,951 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 11,590 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers’ holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $4,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $239,442,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 973.0% in 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 valued at $199,127,000 after buying an additional 674,617 shares in the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 473.5% during 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 buying an additional 426,650 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 344,287 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 28.3% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 860,854 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $243,910,000 after buying an additional 189,663 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.00.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE ESS opened at $246.53 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $253.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $258.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $15.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.68, a P/E/G ratio of 7.88 and a beta of 0.73. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.25 and a 52 week high of $310.10.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $479.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $474.66 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 35.48%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $2.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio 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.