Legal & General Group Plc Trims Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 921,282 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 8,778 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $246,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Tobam increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 167.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tobam now owns 131 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $54,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $250.11 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $254.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $258.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a PEG ratio of 7.98 and a beta of 0.73. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $243.25 and a one year high of $310.10.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 35.48%.The company had revenue of $479.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.66 million. During the same period in the prior 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. On average, equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $2.59 dividend. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $305.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $273.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $282.00 price target (down from $304.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.00.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.