UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Acquires 238,686 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,497,831 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing 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.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,493,426,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. grew its stake in Equity Residential by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 11,664,576 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $837,050,000 after acquiring an additional 57,660 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Equity Residential by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,519,627 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $681,594,000 after acquiring an additional 165,683 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,897,863 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $566,749,000 after acquiring an additional 152,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in 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 worth $468,050,000 after purchasing an additional 696,343 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on EQR shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $82.25 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Mizuho cut their price target on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.50.

Equity Residential Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:EQR traded up $0.70 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.31. 449,683 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,726,257. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's fifty day moving average is $68.86 and its 200-day moving average is $70.75. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $760.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.43 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 34.76% and a return on equity of 9.27%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.73%.

Equity Residential 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.