Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Purchased by Smithfield Trust Co

Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 20.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,209 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $89,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Equity Residential by 482.3% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,153,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $496,040,000 after purchasing an additional 5,925,177 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 1,459.8% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,949,473 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,824,494 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 679.0% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 594,774 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,528,000 after acquiring an additional 518,424 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,676,445 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $116,245,000 after acquiring an additional 475,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,267,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,279,095,000 after acquiring an additional 381,236 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:EQR opened at $75.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.81, a PEG ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.90. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $56.05 and a 1-year high of $78.83. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $74.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.97.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 24th were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 110.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on EQR. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Equity Residential from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America lowered Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.