Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 552,780 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,453 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.15% of Equity Residential worth $39,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,493,426,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Equity Residential by 806.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,259,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $317,136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,234 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Equity Residential by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $576,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741,840 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,737,000 after buying an additional 591,866 shares during the period. Finally, Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2,193.2% in the 3rd quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 416,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,024,000 after buying an additional 398,478 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of EQR stock opened at $71.38 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $27.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. Equity Residential has a one year low of $59.48 and a one year high of $78.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $70.95 and its 200 day moving average is $72.53.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $384,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on EQR shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial increased their price target 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, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.51.

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.