Summit Global Investments Invests $714,000 in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,950 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $714,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. State Street Corp lifted its position in Equity Residential by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,922,127 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,796,976,000 after acquiring an additional 321,002 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,353,944 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $694,441,000 after purchasing an additional 132,638 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,897,863 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $566,749,000 after buying an additional 152,248 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,741,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Equity Residential by 806.4% in the 3rd 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 worth $317,136,000 after buying an additional 3,789,234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.51.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE EQR traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $71.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,374,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,577,165. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $59.48 and a 12-month high of $78.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.56. The company has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.84%.

Equity Residential Company 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.