Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by State of Tennessee Department of Treasury

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury cut its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 620,518 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 38,083 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury owned 0.16% of Equity Residential worth $44,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in Equity Residential by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 7,001 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Equity Residential by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,827 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its stake in Equity Residential by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 5,604 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Stock Down 1.0 %

EQR stock opened at $67.59 on Tuesday. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.41 and a 52 week high of $78.84. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.6925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is presently 101.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on EQR. Mizuho decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Ten 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.51.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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