Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Acquired by Employees Retirement System of Texas

Employees Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 24.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 258,020 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Equity Residential makes up 0.9% of Employees Retirement System of Texas' investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.07% of Equity Residential worth $185,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQR. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 63,600 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,564,000 after purchasing an additional 17,000 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Equity Residential by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 203,612 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,611,000 after acquiring an additional 33,057 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1,336.1% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 207,025 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,856,000 after purchasing an additional 192,609 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,600,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 292,693 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $21,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,819 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQR traded up $0.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $64.62. 2,335,777 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,716,086. 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 cap of $24.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $59.41 and a 12-month high of $78.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $70.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.64.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 101.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on EQR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price target 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Ten 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.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.51.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value 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. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.