Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Bought by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 43.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 134,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,400 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $9,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:EQR opened at $69.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $71.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.66. 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 has a 52 week low of $57.33 and a 52 week high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 110.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.36.

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.