Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by Voloridge Investment Management LLC

Voloridge Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 85.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,617 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 255,894 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $3,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 91,382 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,558,000 after buying an additional 17,728 shares during the last quarter. Sophron Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at about $15,663,000. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at about $215,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 13,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $947,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 141,023 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,034,000 after buying an additional 11,765 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Price Performance

EQR stock traded up $0.88 during trading on Thursday, hitting $69.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,818,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,728,308. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $59.41 and a twelve month high of $78.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.89. The company's 50-day moving average price is $68.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.72.

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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $769.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. 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. Equity Residential's payout ratio is currently 105.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial raised their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $82.25 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.50.

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.