9,695 Shares in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS Purchased by Pensionfund PDN

Pensionfund PDN purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,695 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,537,000. Essex Property Trust comprises 1.7% of Pensionfund PDN’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,664,000. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $223,000. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 28.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 860,854 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $243,910,000 after purchasing an additional 189,663 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,173 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 28.8% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $717,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ESS. Barclays lowered their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $271.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed 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. 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 note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.00.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $243.02 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $15.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 0.73. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $239.99 and a 12-month high of $310.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $253.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $257.71.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.66 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.92 EPS. 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, analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $2.59 dividend. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.52%.

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.