Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 166,027 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 43,097 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $12,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EQR. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Equity Residential during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 525 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 146.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price target 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, UBS Group upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $75.97.

Equity Residential Price Performance

EQR traded down $3.54 during trading on Thursday, reaching $70.41. The stock had a trading volume of 4,134,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,862,565. The business has a 50-day moving average of $74.83 and a 200-day moving average of $69.96. Equity Residential has a one year low of $52.57 and a one year 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 stock has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of 28.84, a PEG ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.89.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $735.26 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 24th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.