Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stock Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 214,175 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 7,602 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.06% of Equity Residential worth $15,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 5.8% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 69,501 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,175,000 after buying an additional 3,784 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Equity Residential in the 2nd quarter valued at about $796,000. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. increased its stake in Equity Residential by 12.3% during the second quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 146,775 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,177,000 after purchasing an additional 16,063 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 3.0% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 46,353 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 2.3% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 12,768 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $885,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America cut shares of Equity Residential from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $78.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $75.97.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR traded down $0.64 during trading on Monday, reaching $72.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,053,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,903,760. The business's fifty day moving average price is $73.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.52. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $52.57 and a twelve month high of $78.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $27.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.89.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.49). Equity Residential had a net margin of 32.83% and a return on equity of 8.53%. The company had revenue of $734.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $735.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 24th will be given a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 24th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.03%.

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.