USS Investment Management Ltd Lowers Stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

USS Investment Management Ltd decreased its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 25.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,545 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 26,997 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $5,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 607.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 109.5% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:EQR traded up $0.01 on Wednesday, hitting $68.63. The company had a trading volume of 681,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,728,357. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.41 and a 1 year high of $78.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $68.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a net margin of 34.76% and a return on equity of 9.27%. The company had revenue of $760.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $769.43 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. Equity Residential's revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.04%. This is a positive change from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 105.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $82.25 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.50.

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.