Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by Guggenheim Capital LLC

Guggenheim Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 76.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,421 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 109,263 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $2,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EQR. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $576,737,000 after purchasing an additional 591,866 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 12.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 129,258 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,625,000 after purchasing an additional 14,109 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 104.6% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 17,195 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 8,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 182,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $13,430,000 after purchasing an additional 8,088 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EQR shares. Truist Financial raised their price target 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. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays cut their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.01.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

EQR traded down $0.45 on Friday, hitting $68.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 241,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,701,546. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $69.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.30. The firm has a market cap of $26.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, 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 quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. 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. Equity Residential's payout ratio is presently 101.84%.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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. Insiders have sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.