Signaturefd LLC Has $202,000 Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Signaturefd LLC reduced its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,811 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 169 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 607.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Equity Residential by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR opened at $69.85 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.64. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $59.48 and a 12-month high of $78.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $26.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 101.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EQR shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank lifted their target price 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 target on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Residential news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $384,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of Equity Residential 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equity Residential 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.