USS Investment Management Ltd Grows Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

USS Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 12.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,504 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,208 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $4,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $230,690,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 973.0% during the 3rd 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 worth $199,127,000 after buying an additional 674,617 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,679,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $439,520,000 after buying an additional 301,349 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 958,090 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $250,714,000 after buying an additional 228,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1,768.0% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 157,438 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,198,000 after buying an additional 149,010 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $669,003.30. This trade represents a 20.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS stock opened at $297.87 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $275.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.12. The firm has a market cap of $19.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a P/E/G ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.70. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $238.46 and a 1-year high of $299.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($2.31). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.03% and a return on equity of 10.00%. The company had revenue of $484.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.97 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ESS shares. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group set a $290.00 price target on Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $273.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, May 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.08.

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.