Presima Securities ULC Sells 88,100 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Presima Securities ULC cut its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 269,665 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 88,100 shares during the period. Equity Residential comprises approximately 4.4% of Presima Securities ULC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Presima Securities ULC owned about 0.07% of Equity Residential worth $20,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EQR. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 36.6% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 569,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,962,000 after buying an additional 152,736 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Equity Residential by 200.9% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 77,019 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,861,000 after purchasing an additional 51,423 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 1.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,267,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,279,095,000 after purchasing an additional 381,236 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,893,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Equity Residential in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,672,000. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EQR. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.97.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock opened at $74.72 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $74.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.36 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.89. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $52.57 and a 12 month high of $78.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.49). The business had revenue of $734.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $735.26 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 32.83% and a return on equity of 8.53%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 24th were given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 112.03%.

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.