Presima Securities ULC Sells 88,100 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Presima Securities ULC decreased its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 269,665 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 88,100 shares during the quarter. Equity Residential accounts for about 4.4% of Presima Securities ULC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Presima Securities ULC owned approximately 0.07% of Equity Residential worth $20,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth approximately $509,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 60,730 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,833,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,106 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aurora Investment Managers LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 46,261 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,920,000 after purchasing an additional 8,520 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on EQR. Bank of America lowered shares of Equity Residential from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.97.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE EQR traded up $0.18 on Thursday, reaching $74.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,988,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,876,357. The firm has a market cap of $28.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $74.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.08. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $52.57 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th were given a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 24th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.03%.

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.