Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Shares in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 193,991 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $13,921,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.05% of Equity Residential at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.51.

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Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of EQR traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $69.85. 3,054,268 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,583,107. The company has a market capitalization of $26.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.66. Equity Residential has a one year low of $59.48 and a one year high of $78.84.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.6925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.84%.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.