Forsta AP Fonden Has $9.65 Million Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 43.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,400 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 40,400 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $9,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in Equity Residential by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,922,127 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,796,976,000 after buying an additional 321,002 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,353,944 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $694,441,000 after acquiring an additional 132,638 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 29.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $576,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741,840 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 8.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $576,737,000 after acquiring an additional 591,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Equity Residential by 806.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,259,145 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $317,136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,234 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

EQR opened at $69.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $57.33 and a 52-week high of $78.83. The firm has a market cap of $26.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.93. The business's fifty day moving average is $71.59 and its 200-day moving average is $72.64.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential's payout ratio is presently 110.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on EQR shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective 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. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.36.

Equity Residential 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.