Legal & General Group Plc Increases Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 950,748 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 29,466 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 1.48% of Essex Property Trust worth $248,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 57.5% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings 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 period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $54,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of ESS opened at $277.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $238.46 and a one year high of $294.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.22, a PEG ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $256.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $256.40.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($2.31). The company had revenue of $484.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $479.89 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.03% and a return on equity of 10.00%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $2.59 dividend. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ESS shares. Wall Street Zen raised Essex Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $293.00 price objective on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $283.74.

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.