Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by State of Tennessee Department of Treasury

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury reduced its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 620,518 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 38,083 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $44,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,737,000 after purchasing an additional 591,866 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 129,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,625,000 after acquiring an additional 14,109 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 104.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 17,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 8,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 182,397 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,430,000 after purchasing an additional 8,088 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on EQR shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank raised their price objective 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. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho cut their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.51.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of EQR opened at $67.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $69.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $59.41 and a 1-year high of $78.84. The stock has a market cap of $25.67 billion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.6925 dividend. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential’s dividend 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.