Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Purchased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Equity Residential by 8.3% during Q1, acquiring an additional 350,095 shares to bring its total holdings to approximately 4.56 million shares, valued at $326.4 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have also expanded their positions in Equity Residential, with TCW Group Inc. leading the increases at 40.4%, indicating positive sentiment among institutional stakeholders.
• Equity Residential recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6925 per share, equating to an annual yield of 4.4%, despite a payout ratio of over 104%.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,560,478 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 350,095 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 1.20% of Equity Residential worth $326,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EQR. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Equity Residential by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 203,612 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,611,000 after buying an additional 33,057 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth approximately $13,921,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Equity Residential by 55.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 22,389 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 7,986 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Equity Residential by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,971 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 25,231 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of EQR stock traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $64.11. 3,890,265 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,275,611. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $66.56 and a 200 day moving average of $68.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $59.41 and a 52-week high of $78.83. The company has a market cap of $24.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th were paid a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 24th. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is presently 104.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $77.00 price target (down from $78.00) on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $84.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.