Atria Investments Inc Buys 6,280 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 28.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 28,056 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,280 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $2,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Equity Residential by 482.3% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,153,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $496,040,000 after purchasing an additional 5,925,177 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Equity Residential by 679.0% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 594,774 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,528,000 after purchasing an additional 518,424 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in Equity Residential by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,676,445 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $116,245,000 after purchasing an additional 475,124 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Equity Residential by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,267,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,279,095,000 after purchasing an additional 381,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Equity Residential by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,180,190 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $151,174,000 after purchasing an additional 373,229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE:EQR opened at $73.07 on Friday. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $54.53 and a 1 year high of $78.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $27.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $74.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.63.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th were paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 24th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 110.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on EQR shares. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research note on Wednesday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.25.

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.