JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 58.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,074,108 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 5,766,426 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 1.07% of Equity Residential worth $303,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 4.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 182,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $13,430,000 after purchasing an additional 8,088 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 104.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 17,195 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,280,000 after buying an additional 8,789 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 12.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 129,258 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,625,000 after buying an additional 14,109 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 69.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,752 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,573,000 after acquiring an additional 8,534 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EQR. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com lowered Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.14.

Equity Residential Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of EQR stock traded down $0.42 on Monday, reaching $71.16. 894,194 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,800,019. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $73.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.16, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $57.33 and a 52 week high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 110.66%.

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.