Andra AP fonden Decreases Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Andra AP fonden reduced its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 214,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 16,200 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $14,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,143,388,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Equity Residential by 482.3% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,153,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $496,040,000 after buying an additional 5,925,177 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 679.0% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 594,774 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,528,000 after buying an additional 518,424 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Equity Residential by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 9,325,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $570,333,000 after buying an additional 516,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 39.6% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,676,445 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $116,245,000 after acquiring an additional 475,124 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 6,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $439,141.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,910.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE:EQR opened at $76.86 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.19 and a 200-day moving average of $66.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.14 billion, a PE ratio of 31.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.89. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $52.57 and a 52 week high of $76.94.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.49). Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 32.83%. The company had revenue of $734.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $735.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. Equity Residential’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st were issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 1st. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on EQR shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Equity Residential from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.09.

About Equity Residential

Equity Residential is committed to creating communities where people thrive. The Company, a member of the S&P 500, is focused on the acquisition, development and management of residential properties located in and around dynamic cities that attract affluent long-term renters. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 305 properties consisting of 80,683 apartment units, with an established presence in Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California, and an expanding presence in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft.