Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Stake Lessened by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 455,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 22,549 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.12% of Equity Residential worth $32,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,664,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Equity Residential by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 77,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,595,000 after buying an additional 1,844 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth approximately $152,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 766,894 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,032,000 after acquiring an additional 9,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz SE bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $308,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Residential news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $309,425.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of EQR opened at $63.69 on Monday. Equity Residential has a one year low of $59.48 and a one year high of $78.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $70.99 and its 200-day moving average is $72.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.