Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Makes New $1.31 Million Investment in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 20,983 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,313,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 5.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,136,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $242,876,000 after purchasing an additional 203,470 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,394,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 6.4% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 71,659 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,207,000 after purchasing an additional 4,292 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 4.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 331,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $19,482,000 after purchasing an additional 14,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 61.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 64,809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,805,000 after purchasing an additional 24,787 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:EQR traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $67.84. 1,022,549 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,950,494. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $52.57 and a fifty-two week high of $69.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.21. The firm has a market cap of $25.75 billion, a PE ratio of 28.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.87.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a net margin of 31.70% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The business had revenue of $730.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $728.09 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 112.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary Kay Haben sold 3,241 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.48, for a total transaction of $212,220.68. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,720 shares in the company, valued at $636,465.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Equity Residential news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 6,357 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $439,141.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,910.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mary Kay Haben sold 3,241 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.48, for a total transaction of $212,220.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,720 shares in the company, valued at $636,465.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,625 shares of company stock worth $913,158 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI cut shares of Equity Residential from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.09.

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.