Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Purchases 161,000 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 77.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 368,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 161,000 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $27,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Equity Residential by 482.3% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,153,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $496,040,000 after purchasing an additional 5,925,177 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Equity Residential by 1,459.8% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,949,473 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824,494 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Equity Residential by 29.0% in 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 last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Equity Residential by 679.0% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 594,774 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,528,000 after purchasing an additional 518,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in Equity Residential by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,676,445 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $116,245,000 after purchasing an additional 475,124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of EQR stock opened at $77.47 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $74.09 and a 200-day moving average of $71.28. 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 has a 12-month low of $56.05 and a 12-month high of $78.83. The company has a market capitalization of $29.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.75, a P/E/G ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.90.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is 110.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EQR shares. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Equity Residential in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.25.

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.