Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC trimmed its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 655,041 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 121,774 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.17% of Equity Residential worth $47,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 109.5% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 208.1% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 610 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of EQR stock opened at $68.16 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $69.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.47. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $59.41 and a twelve month high of $78.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.6925 dividend. This is a positive change from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.51.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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