BNP Paribas Financial Markets Grows Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 29.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 160,122 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,293 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $41,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $230,690,000. Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $880,000. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 1,991 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $521,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $467,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $278.33 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $260.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $257.19. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $238.46 and a 1 year high of $294.09. The company has a market capitalization of $17.89 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($2.31). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 30.03%.The firm had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $479.89 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 116.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $272.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $273.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $286.97.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,003.30. This represents a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.47% of the company’s stock.

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.