Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,800,991 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 114,173 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 14.71% of Equity Residential worth $4,004,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EQR. State Street Corp grew its position in Equity Residential by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,922,127 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,796,976,000 after purchasing an additional 321,002 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,353,944 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $694,441,000 after buying an additional 132,638 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,897,863 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $566,749,000 after acquiring an additional 152,248 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $576,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 806.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,259,145 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $317,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,234 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts have commented on EQR shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.51.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Equity Residential
Equity Residential Stock Performance
EQR traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $71.38. The company had a trading volume of 1,163,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,682,914. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.48 and a 1 year high of $78.84. The company has a market cap of $27.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91.
Equity Residential Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.6925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's payout ratio is currently 101.84%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 worth $1,424,217 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Equity Residential Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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