New York State Common Retirement Fund Boosts Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 240,532 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Equity Residential worth $17,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQR. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 109.5% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth about $13,921,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 78,886 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,661,000 after acquiring an additional 5,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 49.9% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,372 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR traded down $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $67.12. 1,787,009 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,761,931. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.50 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.88. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $59.41 and a 52-week high of $78.84.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $760.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.43 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 33.11% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 24th were issued a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 24th. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 105.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQR has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $84.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.81.

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.