Voya Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Voya Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 28.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 214,022 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 83,655 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Equity Residential worth $15,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 7,001 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Equity Residential by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,827 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 5,604 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.01.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of Equity Residential 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $384,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:EQR opened at $68.56 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.21, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Equity Residential has a one year low of $59.41 and a one year high of $78.84. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $69.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.26.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's dividend 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.

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