Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,327 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 12,631 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $3,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EQR. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Equity Residential by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 569,829 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,962,000 after buying an additional 152,736 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 200.9% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 77,019 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,861,000 after acquiring an additional 51,423 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,267,675 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,279,095,000 after acquiring an additional 381,236 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the second quarter valued at $3,893,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the 1st quarter worth $1,672,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR traded down $0.29 on Wednesday, reaching $73.95. The stock had a trading volume of 1,656,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,851,744. The stock has a market cap of $28.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.89. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $52.57 and a 12-month high of $78.83. The business's 50-day moving average price is $74.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.21.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 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 business had revenue of $734.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $735.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th were issued a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 24th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 112.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on EQR. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Equity Residential from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $75.97.

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.