Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 5,187 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 78,886 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 5,187 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $5,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,922,127 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,796,976,000 after acquiring an additional 321,002 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,353,944 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $694,441,000 after acquiring an additional 132,638 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Equity Residential by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,897,863 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $566,749,000 after purchasing an additional 152,248 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $576,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741,840 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Equity Residential by 806.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,259,145 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $317,136,000 after buying an additional 3,789,234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 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 transaction of $309,425.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,622.48. The trade was a 23.33 % 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 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on EQR. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank boosted 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.51.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE EQR traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.52. 1,110,995 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,578,167. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.57. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.