Wendell David Associates Inc. Continues to Hold Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Wendell David Associates Inc. held its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock at the end of the second quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQR. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth $234,000. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 1,695,859 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $109,145,000 after buying an additional 44,418 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth $1,708,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth $762,000. Finally, Highbridge Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 73.4% in the fourth quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC now owns 160,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,336,000 after buying an additional 68,001 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.09% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Equity Residential (EQR) opened at 67.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.73 billion, a PE ratio of 30.09 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $66.69 and a 200-day moving average of $64.31. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $58.28 and a 12 month high of $68.83.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 33.99%. The company had revenue of $612.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $609.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post $1.40 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 14th. Investors of record on Monday, June 26th were issued a $0.5038 dividend. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 22nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.58%.

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A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EQR shares. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Barclays PLC restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $64.00 target price (up from $62.00) on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “hold” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Finally, Argus set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.08.

In related news, EVP Bruce C. Strohm sold 1,686 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.23, for a total value of $113,349.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael L. Manelis sold 1,000 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total value of $65,630.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 55,838 shares of company stock valued at $3,724,023. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Equity Residential

Equity Residential is a real estate investment trust. The Company’s primary business is the acquisition, development and management of multifamily residential properties. Its segments include Boston, New York, Washington DC, Southern California, San Francisco, Seattle and Other Markets. Southern California includes Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County.