Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Lowers Stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund decreased its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 54.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 251,048 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned 0.05% of Equity Residential worth $14,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 569,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,962,000 after buying an additional 152,736 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Equity Residential by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 165,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,131,000 after purchasing an additional 20,010 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 200.9% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 77,019 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,861,000 after purchasing an additional 51,423 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1.9% in the first 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 period. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,893,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQR has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Equity Residential from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $62.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Equity Residential from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, August 26th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.97.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of EQR opened at $73.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.43, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.21. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $52.57 and a 1 year high of $78.83. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.36.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 32.83%. The business had revenue of $734.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $735.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. Equity Residential’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.89 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th will be given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.03%.

About Equity Residential

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.