Allianz Asset Management GmbH Increases Stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 54.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 450,840 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 158,868 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.12% of Equity Residential worth $32,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 51.6% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 461 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 740 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 765 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Trading Down 1.0%

EQR stock traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $67.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,218,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,762,599. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.22. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.41 and a 1 year high of $78.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.88.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 33.11%. The business had revenue of $760.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $769.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th were paid a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 24th. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 105.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on EQR. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 13th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $84.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays upped their price target on Equity Residential from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded Equity Residential from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.81.

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.