Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its holdings in Equity Residential by 16.0%, selling 9,600 shares, leaving it with 50,566 shares valued at $3.62 million.
• Equity Residential's recent earnings report showed $0.99 earnings per share, meeting analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $768.83 million, slightly below projections.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6925 per share, yielding 4.3% annually, despite a dividend payout ratio of 104.53%.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 16.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,566 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 9,600 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $3,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Equity Residential by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,000,934 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,008,547,000 after buying an additional 199,943 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Equity Residential by 1.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,634,446 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $474,894,000 after buying an additional 112,004 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 53.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,476,004 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $464,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,246,555 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,224,576 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $374,911,000 after purchasing an additional 60,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,560,478 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $326,439,000 after purchasing an additional 350,095 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of EQR opened at $64.11 on Friday. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $59.41 and a twelve month high of $78.83. The stock's 50 day moving average is $66.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 33.22%. The company had revenue of $768.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 24th. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on EQR shares. Mizuho cut their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group cut their target price on Equity Residential from $84.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.78.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.