Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lessened its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 41.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,491 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 10,146 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $1,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,493,426,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. raised its position in Equity Residential by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 11,664,576 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $837,050,000 after purchasing an additional 57,660 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,519,627 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $681,594,000 after purchasing an additional 165,683 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,897,863 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $566,749,000 after buying an additional 152,248 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,522,442 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $468,050,000 after buying an additional 696,343 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock traded up $1.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $68.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,743,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,722,834. The firm has a market cap of $25.88 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $69.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.43. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $59.41 and a fifty-two week high of $78.84.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is 101.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on EQR shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.51.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

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