Aurora Investment Managers LLC. Boosts Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Aurora Investment Managers LLC. grew its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 55,308 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,785 shares during the quarter. Equity Residential makes up approximately 2.4% of Aurora Investment Managers LLC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Aurora Investment Managers LLC.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $3,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Equity Residential by 69.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of EQR opened at $69.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.61. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $57.33 and a 1 year high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 110.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on EQR. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $78.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.69.

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.