Vanderbilt University Has $2.77 Million Stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Vanderbilt University increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,184 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,898 shares during the period. Vanderbilt University’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $2,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,925,177 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 518,424 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Equity Residential by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,676,445 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $116,245,000 after buying an additional 475,124 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 77.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,061,862 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $67,014,000 after acquiring an additional 463,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Equity Residential by 793.8% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 444,791 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,071,000 after acquiring an additional 395,029 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock traded up $0.59 during trading on Monday, hitting $75.26. 81,104 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,850,375. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $74.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.89. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $52.57 and a 1-year high of $78.83.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.49). The business had revenue of $734.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $735.26 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 32.83%. Equity Residential’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 24th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $83.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.97.

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 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.