Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Purchased by Boston Partners

Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,933,843 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 189,853 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned 0.77% of Equity Residential worth $210,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EQR. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Equity Residential by 607.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.51.

Equity Residential Price Performance

EQR traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $69.85. 3,054,268 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,583,400. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $26.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $59.48 and a 52-week high of $78.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.64.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.84%.

About Equity Residential

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.