Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Purchased by Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC

Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,686 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EQR. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake 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 period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 29.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $576,804,000 after buying an additional 1,741,840 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Equity Residential by 8.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,737,000 after purchasing an additional 591,866 shares during the period. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 398,478 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 100.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 691,061 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,590,000 after purchasing an additional 347,085 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 $1,840,340.34. This trade represents 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 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $71.40 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $59.48 and a 12 month high of $78.84. The company has a market cap of $27.11 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 101.84%.

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.