American Century Companies Inc. Sells 268,203 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,390,725 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 268,203 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.63% of Equity Residential worth $171,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EQR. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 607.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 109.5% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment 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 stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.51.

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Insider Activity

In other Equity Residential news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $384,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Equity Residential stock traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $71.31. 1,374,224 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,577,165. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.56. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $59.48 and a fifty-two week high of $78.84. The stock has a market cap of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

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

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.