Van ECK Associates Corp Has $12.53 Million Stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 11.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 165,230 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 16,713 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $12,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 200.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 51,423 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 381,236 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 2nd quarter worth $3,893,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the first quarter worth about $1,672,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 72.2% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 116,790 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,371,000 after buying an additional 48,975 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Equity Residential stock traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.38. 2,427,350 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,863,416. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $53.48 and a 12-month high of $78.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.13. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $74.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.31. The stock has a market cap of $27.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.90.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is presently 110.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on EQR shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Equity Residential from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Equity Residential from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.19.

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.