International Assets Investment Management LLC Invests $1.58 Million in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 25,793 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,577,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Equity Residential by 593.9% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Equity Residential by 229.8% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Mizuho dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Equity Residential from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 1,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total value of $97,405.77. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 31,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,845,479.79. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total transaction of $41,384.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,384,252.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 1,639 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total value of $97,405.77. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 31,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,845,479.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,280 shares of company stock valued at $192,335. 1.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $61.54 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $61.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.67. The company has a market cap of $23.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $52.57 and a twelve month high of $69.45.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.18). Equity Residential had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 29.07%. The business had revenue of $727.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.07 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. Equity Residential’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were given a $0.675 dividend. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.39%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 122.73%.

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.