Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Buys 2,315 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,220,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,315 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $74,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at $1,278,000. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at $232,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,638,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at $216,000. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 13,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In related news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 1,639 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total value of $97,405.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 31,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,845,479.79. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Equity Residential news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $41,384.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,949 shares in the company, valued at $1,384,252.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 1,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total transaction of $97,405.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 31,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,845,479.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,280 shares of company stock worth $192,335 over the last three months. 1.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of EQR opened at $60.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.84. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $52.57 and a 12-month high of $69.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $61.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.62.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $727.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.07 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 29.07% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a $0.675 dividend. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 122.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.32.

About Equity Residential

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.