Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Reduces Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 59,898 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 8,788 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $15,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,664,000. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $223,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 70.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 186.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 33,614 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,526,000 after acquiring an additional 21,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,274 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,345,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ESS. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $305.00 to $280.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $282.00.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $252.07 on Thursday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $238.46 and a 12 month high of $294.09. The stock has a market cap of $16.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21, a PEG ratio of 7.94 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50 day moving average is $250.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by ($0.02). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 35.48%.The firm had revenue of $479.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.66 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business 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 anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $2.59 per share. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.52%.

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.