Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 8,625 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 209,111 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 8,625 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.06% of Equity Residential worth $12,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 593.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 120.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of EQR opened at $61.54 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $52.57 and a 52-week high of $69.45. The company has a market cap of $23.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were given a $0.675 dividend. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 122.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total transaction of $41,384.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,949 shares in the company, valued at $1,384,252.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 1,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was 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 $1,845,479.79. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $41,384.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,384,252.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,280 shares of company stock worth $192,335. 1.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EQR. Barclays decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Raymond James raised Equity Residential from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.