Plato Investment Management Ltd Purchases New Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Posted by Geri Gentry on Aug 19th, 2026

Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $717,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 523.1% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, 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 transaction of $167,670.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,003.30. The trade was a 20.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $284.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $288.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $268.99. The stock has a market cap of $18.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.69. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $238.46 and a 52-week high of $303.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $2.62. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 7.33%. The company had revenue of $489.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.03 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.930-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 16.030-16.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.17 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.79.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.