Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 2.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,652 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Perpetual Investment Management Limited bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth about $5,592,000. American Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 16.4% in the first quarter. American Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 71,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,086,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 5.8% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 28,467 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,039,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. Presima Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. Presima Inc. now owns 66,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,960,000 after acquiring an additional 19,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 65.8% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 18,825 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after buying an additional 7,473 shares during the period. 84.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Shares of EQR stock opened at $79.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $29.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 0.77. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $45.42 and a 52 week high of $82.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $75.88.
Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.53). Equity Residential had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 26.64%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.6025 per share. This represents a $2.41 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 25th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.93%.
Several research analysts have recently issued reports on EQR shares. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 3rd. Truist downgraded Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 19th. Zelman & Associates raised Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised Equity Residential from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 11th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.31.
In other news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.92, for a total transaction of $729,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christa L. Sorenson sold 343 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction of $25,039.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,529 shares of company stock valued at $4,179,674. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.
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 high quality long-term renters. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 305 properties consisting of 78,568 apartment units, located in Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Seattle, San Francisco, Southern California and Denver.
Featured Article: Secondary Public Offerings
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EQR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR).