JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,210,383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 136,275 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 1.11% of Equity Residential worth $302,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 34,053 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,757 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 762,032 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $54,028,000 after buying an additional 67,998 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 299,901 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $21,521,000 after acquiring an additional 18,851 shares during the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 4,686 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Equity Residential by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 60,899 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,370,000 after purchasing an additional 3,392 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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 through this link. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQR traded down $4.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $63.69. The stock had a trading volume of 2,449,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,690,205. The business's 50 day moving average price is $70.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.25. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.48 and a 1 year high of $78.84. 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 $24.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Scotiabank upped 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.51.

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.