Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Acquired by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 233.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,586 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,909 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Equity Residential by 69.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 146.6% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $75.87 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $28.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $74.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.55. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $52.57 and a 1-year high of $78.83.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.49). Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 32.83%. The firm had revenue of $734.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $735.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 24th were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 24th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 112.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $83.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.97.

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.