Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Cuts Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH decreased its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 180,780 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,494 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $47,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vert Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 30,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,020,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,537 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 17,772 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,651,000 after buying an additional 2,076 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $252.07 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $238.46 and a 52-week high of $294.09. The company has a 50 day moving average of $250.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $254.94. The company has a market capitalization of $16.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.94 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, February 27th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $278.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $305.00 to $280.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $278.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $282.00.

Essex Property Trust 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.