Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Purchased by Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 36.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,600 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 17,000 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $4,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Equity Residential by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $576,737,000 after purchasing an additional 591,866 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 79.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,950 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 3,975 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at $923,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 39.6% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 16,795 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 4,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 44.4% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,973 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 2,144 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Equity Residential Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of EQR traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $64.04. The company had a trading volume of 748,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,709,879. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.71. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.41 and a 52 week high of $78.84. The company has a market capitalization of $24.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 101.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 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, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.51.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.