Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $9.30 Million Stock Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 9.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,551 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $9,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 300.0% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $260.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.82. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.25 and a 1 year high of $316.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $262.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $272.26.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $473.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $472.11 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 45.46% and a return on equity of 14.70%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.91 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 3.930-4.030 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 15.890-15.990 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut Essex Property Trust from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $355.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $298.00 to $297.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $267.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.53.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc, an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.