State of Alaska Department of Revenue Boosts Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 225,753 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 4,578 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned about 0.06% of Equity Residential worth $16,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at $2,493,426,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 11,664,576 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $837,050,000 after acquiring an additional 57,660 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,519,627 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $681,594,000 after acquiring an additional 165,683 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,522,442 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $468,050,000 after acquiring an additional 696,343 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 53.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,476,004 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $464,718,000 after acquiring an additional 2,246,555 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.80. The company had a trading volume of 1,479,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,718,169. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.41 and a 1 year high of $78.84. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $69.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $26.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.90.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $760.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $769.43 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 33.11%. The firm's revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 24th will be given a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 24th. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is currently 105.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on EQR. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Equity Residential from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $82.25 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.25.

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.