<div id="readability-page-1" class="page"><p>M&amp;T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of  Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 596.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,262 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 6,219 shares during the period. M&amp;T Bank Corp's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $1,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Essex Property Trust</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><ul><li>Blackstone’s $10 Billion Bet on Property Prices Going Up</li></ul><p>A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of  Essex Property Trust by 11.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 23,136 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,193,000 after buying an additional 2,395 shares during the last quarter.  Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in  Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth about $1,900,000.  JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. raised its position in  Essex Property Trust by 3.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. now owns 594,450 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $159,114,000 after purchasing an additional 22,378 shares in the last quarter.  Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its position in  Essex Property Trust by 473.5% in the third quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 516,756 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $138,315,000 after purchasing an additional 426,650 shares in the last quarter.  Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in  Essex Property Trust by 23,100.0% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,552 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 2,541 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own  96.51% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Essex Property Trust Price Performance</h2><p>Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $263.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.63, a P/E/G ratio of 8.38 and a beta of 0.71. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $238.46 and a 1-year high of $294.09. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $252.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $255.15. </p><ul><li>Yield Curve Tests New Lows, Where Markets Are Seeking Safety</li></ul><p>Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 30.03%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS.  On average, equities analysts predict that  Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend</h2><p>The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $2.59 per share. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 116.40%. </p><h2>Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades</h2><ul><li>Realty Income Trades At Decade Low Valuations, Worth The Yield?</li></ul><p>Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $278.00 and set a &#34;sector outperform&#34; rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Raymond James Financial  reissued a &#34;market perform&#34; rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $271.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a &#34;strong sell&#34; rating to a &#34;sell&#34; rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $281.50 and gave the stock a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned  a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of &#34;Hold&#34; and a consensus target price of $282.97.</p><p><b>Read Our Latest Analysis on Essex Property Trust</b></p><h2>Essex Property Trust Profile</h2> (Free Report)<p>Essex Property Trust, Inc <span>NYSE: ESS<span></span></span> 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.  </p><p>Essex concentrates its portfolio in West Coast markets, with a significant presence in California and the Pacific Northwest.</p><h2>Read More</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Essex Property Trust</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUVTUw?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUVTUw"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Essex Property Trust Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Essex Property Trust, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Essex Property Trust wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Essex Property Trust currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. by 596.3% in Q4, owning 7,262 shares valued at $1.9 million. Other institutional investors also raised their positions. Essex Property Trust's stock opened at $263.68, with a market cap of $16.94 billion. The company reported Q1 earnings of $1.65 per share, missing estimates, and increased its quarterly dividend to $2.59 per share. Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with price targets ranging from $272 to $278.</p>

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Essex Property Trust

M&T Bank

SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF

FlexShares Glbl Quality Real Estate ETF

iShares Mortgage Real Estate Capped

VanEck Mortgage REIT Income ETF

WisdomTree New Economy Real Estate Fund

Schw Us Reit

iShares US Home Construction

iShares US Real Estate ETF

iShares Residential and Multisector Real Estate ETF

SPDR Dow Jones Global Real Estate ETF

Vanguard Real Estate ETF

Real Est Select Spdr

iShares Global REIT

Blackstone

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.

JPMorgan Chase

Realty Income MD

Bank of Nova Scottia

Raymond James Financial

Barclays

Stifel Financial

M & T BANK CORP DEP SHS REPSTG 1/400TH INT PERP SER K

M & T BANK CORP PERP NON CUM PFD FIXED FLTG RATE SER H

M & T BANK CORP DEP SHS EA REP 1/400TH SHS SERIES J

JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. 4.20% DEP SHS REPSTG 1/400TH PFD SER MM

JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. 6%NON CUM DEP SHS REP 1/400TH PFD SER EE

JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. DEP REP 1/400TH (5.75% NON CUM PFD DD)

JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. 4.625% DEP SH RE 1/400TH INT NO CU PF LL

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. 4.55% DEP SHS REPSTG 1/400TH PFD SER JJ

JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. 4.75 DEP SHS REP 1/400 NCUM PFD SR GG

RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL INC 6.375%DEP SHS REP 1/40TH FXD FLTG SER B

STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP 6.125% DEP SHS REP 1/1000 NON CU PF SR C

Stifel Financial Pref Share SFB 5.2 10/15/47

STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP 6.25%NON CUM DEP SHS REP 1/1000TH SER B

STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP 4.50% DEP SHS REP 1/1000TH PREF SHS SR D

M&T Bank Corp Has $1.90 Million Stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS