Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 18,682 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 229,888 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 18,682 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.06% of Equity Residential worth $16,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,493,426,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Equity Residential by 12.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. Adelante Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Equity Residential by 172.1% during the fourth quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 1,077,337 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $77,310,000 after purchasing an additional 681,356 shares during the period. Finally, Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC grew its stake in Equity Residential by 79.1% during the fourth quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 1,161,137 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $83,323,000 after purchasing an additional 512,723 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

EQR traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $70.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,291,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,715,662. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $68.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.39. The stock has a market cap of $26.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.90. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.41 and a 1 year high of $78.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.27% and a net margin of 34.76%. The business had revenue of $760.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $769.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.6925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. Equity Residential's payout ratio is currently 105.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Equity Residential from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $82.25 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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.