Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Invests $1.01 Million in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,790 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,014,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 16.1% during the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. now owns 1,861 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 57.5% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.4% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,919 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,458,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $278.00 price objective on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $273.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $282.00 price objective (down previously from $304.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $283.87.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:ESS opened at $254.50 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.25 and a 1 year high of $316.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $255.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $258.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 8.05 and a beta of 0.74.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued 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 company had revenue of $479.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 98.75%.

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.