Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 182,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 8,088 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $13,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 60,000 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at approximately $923,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in Equity Residential by 244,571.4% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 17,127 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 17,120 shares during the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 7,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1,279.0% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 48,210 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,339,000 after purchasing an additional 44,714 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
NYSE:EQR opened at $71.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $27.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.24, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.92. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $57.33 and a 1-year high of $78.83.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 110.66%.
A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 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. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.14.
Check Out Our Latest Report on 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.
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