Allianz SE Buys Shares of 4,298 Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Allianz SE purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 607.8% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Equity Residential in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Equity Residential by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQR has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on 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. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial raised their price target 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. Barclays decreased 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.51.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of EQR stock opened at $71.38 on Monday. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.48 and a 1 year high of $78.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.10 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.84%.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In other news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the company’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 $309,425.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,622.48. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.