Equity Residential $EQR Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 34.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 466,485 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 250,311 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $27,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 375.2% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 48.8% during the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 549 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Equity Residential from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price target on Equity Residential from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Equity Residential from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Equity Residential from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.40.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE EQR opened at $67.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.45, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.73. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $57.57 and a 1 year high of $71.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $67.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.19.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were issued a $0.7025 dividend. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 29th. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 122.17%.

About Equity Residential

Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates rental apartment properties. Headquartered in Chicago, the company focuses on delivering professionally managed, market-rate apartment homes and related services to renters. Its operations cover a range of property types, including high-rise and mid-rise assets, with amenities and on-site management designed to support resident retention and occupancy.

The company’s core activities include property acquisitions, development and redevelopment, leasing, and day-to-day property management.