Westpac Banking Corp Has $4.08 Million Stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 56,916 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 8,838 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $4,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 607.8% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 109.5% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.51.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE EQR opened at $71.67 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $71.08 and a 200-day moving average of $72.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.48 and a 52 week high of $78.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In related news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the firm’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 $309,425.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.