New York State Teachers Retirement System Increases Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 347,567 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 18,961 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.09% of Equity Residential worth $21,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 593.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 458 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 120.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 229.8% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE EQR traded up $0.67 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.47. The company had a trading volume of 2,536,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,098,865. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $52.57 and a 12-month high of $69.45. The stock has a market cap of $24.47 billion, a PE ratio of 29.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.84. The business's 50-day moving average is $61.22 and its 200 day moving average is $59.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.18). Equity Residential had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 29.07%. The company had revenue of $727.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $725.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 122.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EQR. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a "hold" rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 1,639 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total transaction of $97,405.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 31,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,845,479.79. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 1,639 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total transaction of $97,405.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 31,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,845,479.79. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $50,632.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,209,927.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,280 shares of company stock worth $192,335. 1.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Equity Residential

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.