FIL Ltd Acquires 143,194 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

FIL Ltd lifted its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 113.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 269,654 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 143,194 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd owned about 0.07% of Equity Residential worth $19,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Keybank National Association OH grew its stake in Equity Residential by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 7,001 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 25.3% during 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. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,827 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 38.8% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE:EQR traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $67.13. 1,893,175 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,721,327. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.54. 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 company has a market cap of $25.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.41 and a 1 year high of $78.84.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. 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 is presently 101.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 have sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on EQR. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank upped their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.51.

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.