Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $234.73 Million Stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,837,945 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 97,212 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.01% of Equity Residential worth $234,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 593.9% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 458 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Equity Residential by 120.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth $40,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of EQR stock traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $67.04. 1,635,009 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,096,549. The business's fifty day moving average is $62.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $52.57 and a 12-month high of $69.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.82.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a net margin of 31.70% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The firm had revenue of $730.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $728.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. This is a positive change from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is presently 112.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,933 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,927.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Equity Residential news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,933 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,927.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total transaction of $41,384.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,949 shares in the company, valued at $1,384,252.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,860 shares of company stock worth $566,034 over the last three months. 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.