Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd cut its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 45.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 12,674 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $3,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 57.5% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 120.0% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 176 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on ESS shares. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $272.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $275.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $281.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $283.78.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $268.28 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $253.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $255.32. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $238.46 and a 12-month high of $294.09. The firm has a market cap of $17.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($2.31). The firm had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.89 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.03% and a return on equity of 10.00%. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.04 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $2.59 per share. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is currently 116.40%.

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.