Empowered Funds LLC Raises Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,713 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in 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. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 69.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 41.9% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 146.6% in the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on EQR shares. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $62.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.25.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

EQR opened at $75.79 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $28.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.06, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 0.90. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.10. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $56.05 and a 1-year high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th were paid a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.