Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 16,647 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 60.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 16,647 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 120.0% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 176 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 67.8% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total value of $167,670.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $669,003.30. This trade represents a 20.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ESS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $272.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $296.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday, June 8th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $294.08.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock opened at $293.14 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.94, a PEG ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $282.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $263.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $238.46 and a 12-month high of $303.35.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($2.31). The firm had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $479.89 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 30.03%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $2.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.40%.

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.