Invesco Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 1.7%, now owning 6,634,446 shares valued at approximately $474.9 million.
• Equity Residential reported $0.99 earnings per share for the recent quarter, matching analysts' expectations, with revenue of $768.83 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6925 per share, representing a yield of 4.4%, with a payout ratio currently at 104.53%.

Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,634,446 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 112,004 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 1.75% of Equity Residential worth $474,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 51.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 461 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 27.6% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 740 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE EQR traded down $0.42 during trading on Thursday, reaching $63.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,660,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,926,451. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $66.75 and a 200 day moving average of $68.77. Equity Residential has a one year low of $59.41 and a one year high of $78.83.

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

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 24th were paid a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 24th. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EQR shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down from $78.00) on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.78.

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.