Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Raises Stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 39.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 195,479 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 55,129 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS owned approximately 0.05% of Equity Residential worth $14,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Keybank National Association OH grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 7,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,209 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 5,604 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.51.

Equity Residential Price Performance

EQR stock opened at $70.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50-day moving average is $70.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.69. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.48 and a 1 year high of $78.84.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.26%.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm’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 $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.