The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 15,105 Shares of Equity Residential $EQR

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 510,475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,105 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $30,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 375.2% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 48.8% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 549 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on Equity Residential from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Equity Residential from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.40.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $66.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.14. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $57.57 and a twelve month high of $71.50.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $779.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $781.79 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 27.97% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 4.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 29th were paid a $0.7025 dividend. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 29th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 122.17%.

About Equity Residential

Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates rental apartment properties. Headquartered in Chicago, the company focuses on delivering professionally managed, market-rate apartment homes and related services to renters. Its operations cover a range of property types, including high-rise and mid-rise assets, with amenities and on-site management designed to support resident retention and occupancy.

The company’s core activities include property acquisitions, development and redevelopment, leasing, and day-to-day property management.