Citigroup Inc. Has $21.28 Million Stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Citigroup Inc. cut its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 29.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 285,851 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 118,901 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $21,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 69.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in Equity Residential by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 146.6% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQR has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Equity Residential from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.25.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of EQR opened at $77.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $29.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $56.05 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.24.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

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 3.50%. The ex-dividend date 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.