Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,668,036 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 11,571 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 2.60% of Essex Property Trust worth $403,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ESS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $230,690,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 973.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 743,954 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $199,127,000 after buying an additional 674,617 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 958,090 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $250,714,000 after acquiring an additional 228,165 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1,768.0% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 157,438 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,198,000 after acquiring an additional 149,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3,497.4% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 126,196 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,023,000 after acquiring an additional 122,688 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total value of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $669,003.30. This trade represents a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $273.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $293.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Essex Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.03.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of ESS stock opened at $297.30 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $280.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $262.89. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $238.46 and a fifty-two week high of $303.35.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $479.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $2.59 dividend. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.40%.

About Essex Property Trust

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.