Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 132,638 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,353,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 132,638 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $694,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQR. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 69.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 146.6% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.25.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $72.78 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $73.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.82. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $57.33 and a 1 year high of $78.83. The company has a market capitalization of $27.61 billion, a PE ratio of 29.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 24th were issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 110.66%.

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.