Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 373 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 5.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,713 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 373 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Equity Residential in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,893,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in Equity Residential by 4.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,715,151 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $171,368,000 after buying an additional 112,270 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in Equity Residential in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,841,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,001,360 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $346,794,000 after buying an additional 60,000 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 244,571.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 17,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 17,120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of EQR opened at $75.79 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.12 and a 200 day moving average of $71.10. The company has a market capitalization of $28.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 0.90. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $56.05 and a 12 month high of $78.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. 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 payout ratio is 110.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank decreased 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 note on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.25.

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.