Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. cut its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 70.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,386 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 184,734 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $5,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EQR. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 87.2% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,706 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 4,056 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,997,000. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth approximately $351,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,454 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.69.

Equity Residential Price Performance

EQR stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,355,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,730,420. The company's 50 day moving average is $68.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.86. The stock has a market cap of $27.03 billion, a PE ratio of 26.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $59.41 and a fifty-two week high of $78.84.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $760.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.43 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.27% and a net margin of 34.76%. Equity Residential's revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is 105.73%.

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.