Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Bought by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 74,027 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,526 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $5,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the second quarter worth approximately $265,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 565.4% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 25,696 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,782,000 after buying an additional 21,834 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 208,819 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,480,000 after buying an additional 22,693 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Equity Residential in the second quarter valued at $1,941,000. Finally, Wealth Alliance grew its position in Equity Residential by 18.5% during the second quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 7,660 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Equity Residential stock opened at $69.46 on Thursday. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $57.33 and a 1-year high of $78.83. The company has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The business has a 50-day moving average of $72.60 and a 200-day moving average of $72.57.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 110.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on EQR shares. Mizuho cut their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America cut shares of Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $78.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.69.

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.