Renaissance Technologies LLC Lowers Stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 193,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 7,100 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.05% of Equity Residential worth $13,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Equity Residential by 607.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 109.5% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 208.1% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 610 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $384,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Equity Residential stock traded up $1.11 on Friday, hitting $68.16. The stock had a trading volume of 2,743,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,722,418. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $69.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.40. Equity Residential has a one year low of $59.41 and a one year 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. The stock has a market cap of $25.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. 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 dividend payout ratio is 101.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.51.

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.