LGT Capital Partners LTD. Reduces Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. lessened its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 10.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,590 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 8,600 shares during the quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD.'s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $5,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth $25,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 69.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in Equity Residential by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 525 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 146.6% in the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Equity Residential from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.25.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Equity Residential stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $74.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 544,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,844,920. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $74.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.86. The company has a market capitalization of $28.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.50, a PEG ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.90. 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 12-month low of $54.70 and a 12-month high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 24th were issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.