Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by Resolution Capital Ltd

Resolution Capital Ltd decreased its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,891,189 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 570,490 shares during the period. Equity Residential comprises about 6.3% of Resolution Capital Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Resolution Capital Ltd owned about 1.29% of Equity Residential worth $350,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 607.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Equity Residential by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Equity Residential by 109.5% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 208.1% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 610 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $68.82 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.89. 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 business's 50-day moving average is $68.84 and its 200-day moving average is $70.90. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.41 and a 1 year high of $78.84.

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

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. This is a positive change from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's payout ratio is currently 105.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on EQR shares. StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $82.25 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.69.

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.

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