Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 52.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 231,789 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 260,801 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $16,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. Vert Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 150,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,782,000 after acquiring an additional 10,472 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth about $321,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at about $923,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 483,753 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,714,000 after acquiring an additional 263,622 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Equity Residential Trading Down 4.3 %

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $68.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $71.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.34. 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 52-week low of $59.48 and a 52-week high of $78.84.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.6925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.04%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the 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 owns 26,781 shares in the company, 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 valued at $1,424,217 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equity Residential 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.