Martingale Asset Management L P Trims Stake in Equity Residential $EQR

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P reduced its stake in Equity Residential by 55.9%, now holding 19,728 shares valued at approximately $1.41 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Versant Capital Management Inc and MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust, have increased their holdings in Equity Residential, reflecting a general interest among institutional investors.
• Equity Residential recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6925, translating to an annualized yield of 4.3%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 104.53%.

Martingale Asset Management L P decreased its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 55.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,728 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 24,960 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $1,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 51.6% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 461 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on EQR. Stifel Nicolaus set a $80.50 target price on Equity Residential and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $84.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $77.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.78.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.4%

EQR stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $64.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,972,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,378,594. The company has a market cap of $24.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.92. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $59.41 and a 12 month high of $78.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm's 50-day moving average is $65.88 and its 200-day moving average is $68.37.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.99. The firm had revenue of $768.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $770.60 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 33.22%.The company's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. Equity Residential has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.970-4.030 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 0.990-1.030 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th were issued 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%.

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.