KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes $17.90 Million Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 249,394 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $17,897,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned 0.07% of Equity Residential at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Equity Residential by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 32,359 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,322,000 after purchasing an additional 10,235 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at $714,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 195,479 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,028,000 after buying an additional 55,129 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,126 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $13,428,000 after buying an additional 13,656 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 52,556 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,771,000 after buying an additional 1,615 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

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Equity Residential Stock Up 0.2 %

EQR stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $71.38. 1,163,184 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,682,914. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.53. The company has a market capitalization of $27.10 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $59.48 and a twelve month high of $78.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on EQR. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.51.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In related news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.