Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 293,425 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 8,671 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.08% of Equity Residential worth $21,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth $29,000. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth $40,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 109.5% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the business'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 $309,425.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,622.48. The trade was a 23.33 % 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho cut their target price 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, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.51.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR traded down $4.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $63.69. The stock had a trading volume of 2,449,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,691,121. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.18. The company has a market capitalization of $24.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.48 and a 1 year high of $78.84.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 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.