Metis Global Partners LLC Grows Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 26,904 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,478 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $7,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,900,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 594,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $159,114,000 after buying an additional 22,378 shares during the period. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 473.5% during the 3rd quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 516,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $138,315,000 after buying an additional 426,650 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 23,100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 2,541 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 929,187 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $248,703,000 after buying an additional 5,483 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $272.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $293.00 price objective on Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, May 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $288.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,003.30. This represents a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.47% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock opened at $284.59 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $238.46 and a 52-week high of $294.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $264.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.25. The company has a market capitalization of $18.29 billion, a PE ratio of 31.98, a P/E/G ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 0.72.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($2.31). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.03% and a return on equity of 10.00%. The firm had revenue of $484.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. Analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.59 per share. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 116.40%.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.