USS Investment Management Ltd Reduces Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 25.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,545 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 26,997 shares during the quarter. 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 hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 607.8% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 109.5% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of EQR traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $67.62. 1,354,822 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,731,252. The stock has a market cap of $25.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $68.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.79. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.41 and a 1 year high of $78.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $760.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.43 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 34.76% and a return on equity of 9.27%. The firm's revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is 105.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on EQR shares. Wall Street Zen raised Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Equity Residential from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.50.

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.