Sterling Capital Management LLC Acquires 7,986 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 55.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,389 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 7,986 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $1,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EQR. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.51.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In related news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business'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 directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR traded up $1.11 on Friday, hitting $68.16. 2,743,773 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,722,418. The business's 50 day moving average price is $69.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.40. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $59.41 and a 52-week high of $78.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential's payout ratio is presently 101.84%.

Equity Residential Company 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.