The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires 15,105 Shares of Equity Residential $EQR

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its Equity Residential stake by 3% in the first quarter, purchasing 15,105 shares and bringing its holdings to 510,475 shares valued at approximately $30.2 million.
• Equity Residential reported quarterly revenue of $779.85 million, up 2.5% year over year, but earnings per share of $0.24 fell short of analysts’ $0.33 estimate.
• The REIT pays an annualized dividend of $2.81 per share, yielding about 4.2%, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating and a target price of $71.40.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 510,475 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 15,105 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.14% of Equity Residential worth $30,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 375.2% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 480 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 549 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR opened at $66.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.97 billion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.19. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $57.57 and a 52-week high of $71.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.14.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.09). Equity Residential had a net margin of 27.97% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $779.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $781.79 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 4.08 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were issued a $0.7025 dividend. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 122.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Equity Residential from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Equity Residential from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Equity Residential from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore increased their price target on Equity Residential from $70.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.40.

Equity Residential Profile

Equity Residential NYSE: EQR is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates rental apartment properties. Headquartered in Chicago, the company focuses on delivering professionally managed, market-rate apartment homes and related services to renters. Its operations cover a range of property types, including high-rise and mid-rise assets, with amenities and on-site management designed to support resident retention and occupancy.

The company's core activities include property acquisitions, development and redevelopment, leasing, and day-to-day property management.

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