193,991 Shares in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 193,991 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $13,921,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Equity Residential as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth $29,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Equity Residential by 12.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 129,258 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,625,000 after acquiring an additional 14,109 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 104.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 8,088 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock traded down $0.75 on Friday, reaching $68.56. 1,318,693 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,699,193. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $26.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's 50 day moving average is $69.52 and its 200-day moving average is $71.27. Equity Residential has a one year low of $59.41 and a one year high of $78.84.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.84%.

Insider Activity

In other Equity Residential news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm'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 $46,262.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EQR. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.01.

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.