Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Position Cut by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,266 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 3,529 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Vert Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $10,782,000 after acquiring an additional 10,472 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth approximately $321,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $923,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 483,753 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,714,000 after buying an additional 263,622 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EQR shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.51.

Insider Activity

In other Equity Residential 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 transaction of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Equity Residential stock traded up $0.12 on Friday, hitting $71.38. 1,163,184 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,682,915. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $59.48 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 stock has a market cap of $27.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's 50-day moving average is $70.95 and its 200 day moving average is $72.47.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's payout ratio is presently 101.84%.

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.