Employees Retirement System of Texas Cuts Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Employees Retirement System of Texas decreased its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 30.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 160,020 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 70,000 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Equity Residential were worth $10,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Equity Residential by 220.0% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Equity Residential by 229.8% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Glassman Wealth Services increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 41.6% during the 1st quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 694 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman David J. Neithercut sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.25, for a total transaction of $1,356,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 3,392 shares in the company, valued at $184,016. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $71.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 10th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Equity Residential from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $62.00 to $69.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.68.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE:EQR traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.15. 451,742 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,913,772. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $52.57 and a 1 year high of $69.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.86.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 26th were given a $0.6625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 25th. This represents a $2.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.72%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.22%.

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.