119,752 Shares in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Acquired by Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 119,752 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $8,593,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 483,753 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,714,000 after acquiring an additional 263,622 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth about $321,000. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 7,001 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,210,383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $302,137,000 after buying an additional 136,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at about $13,921,000. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on EQR shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Wall Street Zen raised Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Equity Residential from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Equity Residential from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.50.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Equity Residential stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $70.08. 3,122,806 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,734,451. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $26.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $68.77 and a 200-day moving average of $70.68. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $59.41 and a 12 month high of $78.84.

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

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.95%. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.73%.

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.