AQR Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 141,610 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 15,313 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $10,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 7,001 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,827 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Equity Residential by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 5,604 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 218 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 up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.93. The company had a trading volume of 1,134,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,706,889. The company's fifty day moving average is $69.00 and its 200-day moving average is $70.99. The company has a market capitalization of $26.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.89. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $59.41 and a 12-month high of $78.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $760.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $769.43 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.27% and a net margin of 34.76%. The business's revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This is a positive change from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Equity Residential from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $82.25 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.94.

About Equity Residential

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.