Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 60,987 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,069,328 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 60,987 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.07% of Equity Residential worth $292,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vert Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Equity Residential by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 150,245 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,782,000 after purchasing an additional 10,472 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at about $923,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,707 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 129,258 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,625,000 after acquiring an additional 14,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at about $351,000. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 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 value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.46.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR traded up $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.97. 1,811,736 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,641,885. The company has a 50-day moving average of $70.74 and a 200-day moving average of $72.93. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $59.48 and a 52-week high of $78.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential's payout ratio is currently 99.26%.

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.