Phoenix Financial Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. reduced its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 28.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,030 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,181 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQR. APG Asset Management US Inc. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 11,664,576 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $837,050,000 after buying an additional 57,660 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth approximately $13,921,000. APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 431,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,875,000 after acquiring an additional 184,800 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 113.2% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 269,654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $19,350,000 after purchasing an additional 143,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,522,442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $468,050,000 after purchasing an additional 696,343 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at $1,930,106.67. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.51.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:EQR opened at $64.62 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.64. The stock has a market cap of $24.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $59.41 and a 12 month high of $78.84.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 101.84%.

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.