Norges Bank Invests $230.69 Million in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Posted by Stanley Muller on Jun 3rd, 2026

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS – Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 881,574 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $230,690,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ESS. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth about $1,664,000. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth about $223,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake 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 worth $9,526,000 after acquiring an additional 21,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake 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 worth $2,345,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. Piper Sandler raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Scotiabank increased their target price 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. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $293.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $286.97.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on ESS

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.2%

ESS opened at $277.48 on Wednesday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $238.46 and a twelve 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $258.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $256.85. The company has a market cap of $17.83 billion, a PE ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.72.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.97 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $2.59 per share. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 116.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In related 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 transaction of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,394 shares in the company, valued at $669,003.30. This represents a 20.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Essex Property Trust

(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.