Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp Purchases Shares of 3,799 Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,799 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,395,793 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,369,707,000 after acquiring an additional 372,181 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,822,309,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,983,779 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,515,182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269,082 shares during the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 7,912,891 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $474,727,000 after purchasing an additional 566,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 2.3% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,839,640 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $469,403,000 after buying an additional 176,762 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In related news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total transaction of $50,632.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,927.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $50,632.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,927.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 1,639 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total transaction of $97,405.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 31,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,845,479.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,280 shares of company stock worth $192,335. Company insiders own 1.69% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE:EQR opened at $61.69 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.84. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $52.57 and a fifty-two week high of $69.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.59.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $727.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.07 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 29.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 122.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on EQR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Raymond James raised Equity Residential from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “hold” rating and a $64.00 price objective for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.32.

Equity Residential Company 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.