Summit Global Investments Grows Stock Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Summit Global Investments lifted its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 63.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,483 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,506 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Equity Residential were worth $397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 593.9% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 120.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.5 %

Equity Residential stock opened at $65.91 on Monday. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $52.57 and a 12-month high of $69.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.45 and a 200 day moving average of $60.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a net margin of 31.70% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The firm had revenue of $730.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $728.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 112.03%.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $261,795.27. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,264.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Equity Residential news, Director Mary Kay Haben sold 3,241 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.48, for a total transaction of $212,220.68. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $636,465.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $261,795.27. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,264.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,860 shares of company stock valued at $566,034 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EQR. Barclays reduced their price objective on Equity Residential from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Equity Residential from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Equity Residential from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.04.

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.