Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Acquired by Contravisory Investment Management Inc.

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 103,872 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $7,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Equity Residential by 806.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,259,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $317,136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,234 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 1,459.8% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,949,473 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $145,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824,494 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 29.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741,840 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 8.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $576,737,000 after purchasing an additional 591,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC grew its stake in Equity Residential by 2,193.2% during the 3rd quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 416,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,024,000 after purchasing an additional 398,478 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America cut Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $78.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.69.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

EQR stock opened at $69.46 on Thursday. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $57.33 and a fifty-two week high of $78.83. The company has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 110.66%.

About Equity Residential

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.