Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Director Sells $167,670.00 in Stock

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total value of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,003.30. This represents a 20.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.3%

ESS traded down $3.54 on Friday, hitting $272.90. The company had a trading volume of 739,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 521,479. The company has a market cap of $17.54 billion, a PE ratio of 30.66, a PEG ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 0.71. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $238.46 and a 12-month high of $294.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $257.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $256.65.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 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 return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 30.03%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.97 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.06 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $2.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $293.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $274.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $281.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $284.50.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $230,690,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 973.0% during the third 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 valued at $199,127,000 after acquiring an additional 674,617 shares in the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 473.5% during the third quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 516,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $138,315,000 after acquiring an additional 426,650 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,679,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $439,520,000 after acquiring an additional 301,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 958,090 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $250,714,000 after acquiring an additional 228,165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

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.