Public Sector Pension Investment Board Grows Stock Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 23.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,403 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 11,406 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $4,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Equity Residential by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 220,131 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $16,391,000 after acquiring an additional 2,827 shares in the last quarter. Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth $9,802,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 77.8% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 368,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $27,401,000 after buying an additional 161,000 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at $339,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 45.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 564,865 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $42,060,000 after purchasing an additional 175,268 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EQR. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Equity Residential from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lowered Equity Residential from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $82.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Eleven equities research 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.25.

Equity Residential Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of EQR stock traded down $1.22 on Tuesday, hitting $74.02. 1,479,000 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,832,255. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $74.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.45. Equity Residential has a one year low of $57.33 and a one year high of $78.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.34, a P/E/G ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.92.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 110.66%.

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.