Virtu Financial LLC Invests $953,000 in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,643 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $953,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 120.0% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 176 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 67.8% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on ESS shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Piper Sandler raised Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $275.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $293.00 target price on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.62.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE ESS opened at $274.11 on Monday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $238.46 and a 12 month high of $294.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $268.92 and a 200-day moving average of $259.08. The company has a market cap of $17.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a PEG ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 0.72.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($2.31). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 30.03%.The firm had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.08 EPS 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.8%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 116.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total value of $167,670.00. Following the sale, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.