Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Stock Position Lowered by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,167 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,421 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $1,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in 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 period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.51.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of EQR stock opened at $69.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $70.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $59.48 and a 12 month high of $78.84. The company has a market capitalization of $26.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is 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 101.84%.

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.