Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Acquired by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,224,576 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 60,099 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.38% of Equity Residential worth $374,911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at $2,493,426,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 11,664,576 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $837,050,000 after buying an additional 57,660 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,519,627 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $681,594,000 after buying an additional 165,683 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,897,863 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $566,749,000 after acquiring an additional 152,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,522,442 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $468,050,000 after acquiring an additional 696,343 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In related news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQR traded down $0.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $68.80. 318,074 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,701,875. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.27, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. Equity Residential has a one year low of $59.41 and a one year high of $78.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business's fifty day moving average is $69.57 and its 200-day moving average is $71.30.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.01.

Equity Residential 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.