Aberdeen Group plc Cuts Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 184,420 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 18,378 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.29% of Essex Property Trust worth $48,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth about $239,442,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 48.3% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,056,887 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $299,522,000 after buying an additional 344,287 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of 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 worth $243,910,000 after buying an additional 189,663 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 42.1% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 509,455 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $144,400,000 after buying an additional 150,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 28.1% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 619,011 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $175,428,000 after acquiring an additional 135,965 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS stock opened at $251.34 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $255.79 and a 200 day moving average of $259.12. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.25 and a 1 year high of $316.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 0.74.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $479.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $474.66 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 35.48% and a return on equity of 11.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm 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, research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 98.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $282.00 target price (down previously from $304.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Barclays reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $292.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $294.00 to $284.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $283.87.

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.