Vert Asset Management LLC Purchases 8,388 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Vert Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 158,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,388 shares during the period. Equity Residential comprises 3.9% of Vert Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Vert Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $11,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 10,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 2,175 shares during the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 28.6% during the first quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 12,979 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $929,000 after purchasing an additional 2,888 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1.1% in the first quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 98,217 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 6.0% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 78,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,618,000 after purchasing an additional 4,464 shares during the period. Finally, Aurora Investment Managers LLC. increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 1.6% in the first quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 56,187 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,022,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock opened at $68.54 on Monday. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.41 and a 52 week high of $78.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $68.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.44. The company has a market cap of $26.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.90.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.27% and a net margin of 34.76%. The business had revenue of $760.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $769.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. Equity Residential’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.6925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on EQR shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $82.25 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.50.

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.