Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 12,880 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 6.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 198,793 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,880 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $53,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Tobam lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 167.3% in the second quarter. Tobam now owns 131 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of ESS stock opened at $255.30 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $255.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $259.13. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.25 and a 12-month high of $316.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $16.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.02 and a beta of 0.74.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $479.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.66 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 35.48% and a return on equity of 11.61%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.92 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 15.690-16.190 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 3.890-4.010 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.59 per share. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 98.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on ESS. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $305.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Evercore dropped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $271.00 and set a “cautious” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $283.87.

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.