Norges Bank Takes Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Norges Bank bought a new position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 34,746,743 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $2,493,426,000. Norges Bank owned 9.16% of Equity Residential as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 607.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $309,425.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. This trade represents a 23.33 % 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 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho dropped 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. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.51.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock traded up $0.76 during trading on Monday, hitting $71.45. 472,641 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,678,384. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $70.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $59.48 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. Investors 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 3.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is 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.