Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Purchased by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 55.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 171,366 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,942 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $12,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 7.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,957 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 17,060 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,233,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 115.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,678 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 3,585 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 234,597 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,413,000 after acquiring an additional 2,973 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on EQR. Scotiabank boosted 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.46.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $73.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $27.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.84. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.02 and a 52 week high of $78.83. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 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. This trade 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 valued at $1,424,217 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by 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.