Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Acquired by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,027 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,526 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $5,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Equity Residential by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,922,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,796,976,000 after purchasing an additional 321,002 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,353,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $694,441,000 after buying an additional 132,638 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 29.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,804,000 after buying an additional 1,741,840 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised 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 valued at $576,737,000 after acquiring an additional 591,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted 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 period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of EQR stock opened at $69.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $26.36 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $57.33 and a 1 year high of $78.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $72.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.57.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EQR shares. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of 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 research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho reduced their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target 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, StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. 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 company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.69.

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.