Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Raises Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 66.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 619,960 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 246,827 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned about 0.16% of Equity Residential worth $46,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 482.3% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 5,925,177 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Equity Residential by 679.0% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 594,774 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,528,000 after purchasing an additional 518,424 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,676,445 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $116,245,000 after acquiring an additional 475,124 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 77.5% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,061,862 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $67,014,000 after acquiring an additional 463,664 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 793.8% in the 1st 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EQR shares. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Equity Residential from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.19.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE:EQR opened at $70.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $26.62 billion, a PE ratio of 28.78, a P/E/G ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 0.90. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $53.48 and a 1-year high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th were given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 110.66%.

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.