Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 193,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 7,100 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Equity Residential worth $13,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 7,001 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Equity Residential by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,827 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 5,604 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on EQR shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho reduced their price objective 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. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.51.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of EQR stock traded up $1.11 on Friday, reaching $68.16. 2,743,773 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,723,099. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $69.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.47. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.41 and a 1 year high of $78.84. The company has a market cap of $25.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In related news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 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 $309,425.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,622.48. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. 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 three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.