Blue Trust Inc. Boosts Stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 32.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,397 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,811 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EQR. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at approximately $923,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 129,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,625,000 after purchasing an additional 14,109 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Equity Residential by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,008,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $298,461,000 after purchasing an additional 124,795 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth about $351,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EQR shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.36.

Equity Residential Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:EQR opened at $69.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.70 and a 200-day moving average of $72.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $57.33 and a 52 week high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 110.66%.

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.