Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Stake Increased by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 767,553 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 61,936 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.20% of Equity Residential worth $55,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQR. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 607.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 109.5% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 208.1% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 610 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQR traded up $0.31 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.24. 408,477 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,713,514. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $59.41 and a 12 month high of $78.84. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $69.64 and a 200-day moving average of $71.34.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EQR shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.01.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.