GAMMA Investing LLC Has $500,000 Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,966 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 625 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Equity Residential by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,001,360 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $346,794,000 after acquiring an additional 60,000 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $923,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 244,571.4% in the second 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 during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 47,997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,328,000 after buying an additional 7,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Equity Residential by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 129,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,625,000 after buying an additional 14,109 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Stock Up 1.2 %

EQR stock opened at $70.90 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.90 billion, a PE ratio of 29.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $73.16 and its 200-day moving average is $72.59. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $57.33 and a twelve month high of $78.83. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 110.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQR has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays initiated coverage on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.14.

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.