Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC Has $31.02 Million Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 2,193.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 416,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 398,478 shares during the period. Equity Residential accounts for 1.7% of Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $31,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC grew its position in Equity Residential by 29.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $576,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741,840 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 60,000 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Equity Residential by 806.4% in the third 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 valued at $317,136,000 after buying an additional 3,789,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,008,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $298,461,000 after buying an additional 124,795 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on EQR shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.25.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE:EQR opened at $75.24 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $74.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.45. 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 company has a market cap of $28.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.84, a P/E/G ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.92. Equity Residential has a one year low of $57.33 and a one year high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th were given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 110.66%.

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.