Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 124,795 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,008,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 124,795 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $298,461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EQR. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 69.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 41.9% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 146.6% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $75.79 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $74.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.03. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $56.05 and a 52-week high of $78.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $28.76 billion, a PE ratio of 31.06, a P/E/G ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.90.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th were paid a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is currently 110.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EQR. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America lowered shares of Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $82.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.25.

Equity Residential Company Profile

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.