TCW Group Inc. Purchases 23,997 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Key Points

• TCW Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 40.4% in Q1, acquiring an additional 23,997 shares, bringing its total to 83,417 shares valued at approximately $5.97 million.
• The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with quarterly revenue increasing by 4.1% year-over-year to $760.81 million.
• Equity Residential announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6925 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 4.11% and a payout ratio of 105.73% as of June 24th.

TCW Group Inc. grew its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 40.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 83,417 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 23,997 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc.'s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $5,971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EQR. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Equity Residential by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 61,979 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,436,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080 shares in the last quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 0.5% during the first quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 60,646 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,341,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 51.9% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,404 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 1,504 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 16.6% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 226,617 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $16,221,000 after buying an additional 32,236 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 10.0% in the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 16,312 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,168,000 after buying an additional 1,481 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR opened at $67.38 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $68.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.24. The stock has a market cap of $25.60 billion, a PE ratio of 25.72, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $59.41 and a fifty-two week high of $78.83.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 33.11%. The business had revenue of $760.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $769.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. Equity Residential's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th were paid a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 24th. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is currently 105.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on EQR. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $84.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Equity Residential from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $74.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.

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