Avanza Fonder AB Takes Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 27,828 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,997,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 69.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.7 %

EQR stock opened at $69.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $72.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $57.33 and a 12 month high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on EQR shares. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of 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 raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America cut Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $78.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.