California State Teachers Retirement System Buys 46,671 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 588,059 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 46,671 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.15% of Equity Residential worth $42,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 483,753 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,714,000 after purchasing an additional 263,622 shares during the last quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 150,245 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,782,000 after acquiring an additional 10,472 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at about $321,000. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 7,001 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Equity Residential by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,210,383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $302,137,000 after acquiring an additional 136,275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.1%

Equity Residential stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $70.08. 3,122,806 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,721,605. Equity Residential has a one year low of $59.41 and a one year high of $78.84. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $68.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $26.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.76, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.89.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last released 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 company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 105.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on EQR shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $82.25 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.50.

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.