Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Acquired by Atomi Financial Group Inc.

Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,922,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,796,976,000 after buying an additional 321,002 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,353,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $694,441,000 after buying an additional 132,638 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741,840 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,737,000 after purchasing an additional 591,866 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 806.4% during the 3rd 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 worth $317,136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of EQR opened at $68.33 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $25.92 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $57.33 and a 52-week high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 110.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EQR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.36.

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.