Earnest Partners LLC Has $13.05 Million Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Earnest Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 4.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 48,760 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,515 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $13,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $239,442,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 674,617 shares during the period. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 473.5% in the third quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 516,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $138,315,000 after purchasing an additional 426,650 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted 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 last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake 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 worth $243,910,000 after buying an additional 189,663 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $282.00 price objective (down from $304.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday, December 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $278.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $290.00 price target 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.00.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $249.61 on Monday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.25 and a twelve month high of $310.10. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $258.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.85 and a beta of 0.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $479.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the firm 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. Analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $2.59 dividend. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.