HighTower Advisors LLC Raises Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR – Get Rating) by 66.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,786 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 10,306 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $1,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 290.5% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 410 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 84.0% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 690 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.62% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $59.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $54.60 and a fifty-two week high of $80.89.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 27th were issued a $0.6625 dividend. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 24th. This represents a $2.65 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.46%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 109.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark S. Shapiro sold 42,435 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total transaction of $2,627,150.85. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $773,689.27. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EQR shares. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $72.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, May 19th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 10th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.18.

About Equity Residential

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Equity Residential operates as a real estate investment trust. It engages in the acquisition, development, and management of rental apartment properties, which includes the generation of rental and other related income through the leasing of apartment units to residents. The company was founded by Robert H.