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

Andra AP fonden trimmed its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 7.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 owned about 0.06% of Equity Residential worth $14,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Equity Residential Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $76.86 on Wednesday. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $52.57 and a 12-month high of $76.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $71.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.76. 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 firm has a market cap of $29.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89, a PEG ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.89.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.49). The company had revenue of $734.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $735.26 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 32.83% and a return on equity of 8.53%. Equity Residential’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on EQR shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.