Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 464,465 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,929 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $112,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 255,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $66,868,000 after acquiring an additional 6,422 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $230,690,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 160,122 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,901,000 after purchasing an additional 36,293 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,679,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $439,520,000 after purchasing an additional 301,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centersquare Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 548,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $143,405,000 after purchasing an additional 31,261 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $293.76 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.88 billion, a PE ratio of 33.01, a PEG ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.70. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $238.46 and a twelve month high of $303.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $264.05.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($2.31). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.03% and a return on equity of 10.00%. The business had revenue of $484.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $479.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.97 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $2.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ESS shares. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $295.97.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,003.30. This trade represents a 20.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.