Platform Technology Partners Takes Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Platform Technology Partners bought a new stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,423 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $388,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,493,426,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 53.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,476,004 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $464,718,000 after acquiring an additional 2,246,555 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,522,442 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $468,050,000 after purchasing an additional 696,343 shares during the last quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 172.1% in the 4th quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 1,077,337 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $77,310,000 after purchasing an additional 681,356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 79.1% during the 4th quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 1,161,137 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $83,323,000 after purchasing an additional 512,723 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQR traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $66.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,284,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,768,713. The company has a market capitalization of $25.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $68.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.41 and a 1 year high of $78.84.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a net margin of 33.11% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The firm had revenue of $760.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $769.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th were given a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 24th. Equity Residential's payout ratio is currently 105.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Equity Residential from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 13th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $82.25 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.19.

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.