Sterling Capital Management LLC Purchases 7,986 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 55.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,389 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 7,986 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $1,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 607.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. 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 buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 109.5% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Equity Residential by 208.1% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 610 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQR has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. 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, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.51.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE:EQR traded up $1.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.16. The stock had a trading volume of 2,743,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,722,834. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.41 and a 52 week high of $78.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $69.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.43.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equity Residential 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.