Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 345,988 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 20.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,011,368 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 345,988 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.53% of Equity Residential worth $144,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 32.7% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 811 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 12,768 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 46,353 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,344 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the 2nd quarter worth about $796,000. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its stake in Equity Residential by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 69,501 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,175,000 after acquiring an additional 3,784 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.44. 1,234,972 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,711,158. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $57.33 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The company's 50 day moving average price is $70.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.11 billion, a PE ratio of 26.26, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.26%.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $309,425.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EQR. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. 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. Mizuho dropped 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 cut their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.36.

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.