Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by Mather Group LLC.

Mather Group LLC. decreased its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 53.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 418 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $27,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 4.5% in the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,522 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in Equity Residential by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Equity Residential by 32.7% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 811 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in Equity Residential by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE:EQR opened at $73.67 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $73.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.96. The firm has a market cap of $27.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.89. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $52.57 and a 12 month high of $78.83.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.49). The business had revenue of $734.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $735.26 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 32.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th were given a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 24th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQR has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Equity Residential from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, August 26th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.97.

Equity Residential Company 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.