Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $13.92 Million Investment in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 607.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 109.5% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 208.1% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 610 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equity Residential Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Equity Residential stock traded down $0.05 on Thursday, reaching $69.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,145,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,713,108. The firm has a market cap of $26.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $69.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.33. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.41 and a 1 year high of $78.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

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 given a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on EQR shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.01.

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.