National Pension Service Boosts Stake in Equity Residential $EQR

National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 605,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 26,590 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.16% of Equity Residential worth $39,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 0.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,316,304 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,800,787,000 after purchasing an additional 315,370 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Equity Residential during the second quarter valued at $2,351,689,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Equity Residential by 1.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,234,081 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,651,909,000 after purchasing an additional 417,119 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,884,977 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $664,662,000 after buying an additional 137,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,019,026 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $541,204,000 after buying an additional 1,384,580 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of EQR stock opened at $61.63 on Tuesday. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $58.38 and a 52-week high of $75.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $61.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.79.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $73.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.01.

Equity Residential Profile

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.