Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Bought by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,497,831 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 238,686 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 1.19% of Equity Residential worth $322,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EQR. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 483,753 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,714,000 after purchasing an additional 263,622 shares in the last quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 150,245 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,782,000 after buying an additional 10,472 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth approximately $321,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,707 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EQR. Barclays lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.69.

Equity Residential Trading Down 3.0%

NYSE:EQR opened at $68.95 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average is $68.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $769.43 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.27% and a net margin of 34.76%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.6925 dividend. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.02%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.73%.

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.

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