UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Has $10.28 Million Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 143,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,137 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $10,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,922,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,796,976,000 after purchasing an additional 321,002 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,353,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $694,441,000 after acquiring an additional 132,638 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,897,863 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $566,749,000 after acquiring an additional 152,248 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,741,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 806.4% during the third 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 worth $317,136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,234 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQR has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial boosted 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. Evercore ISI raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.51.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR opened at $71.31 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. 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 has a 52-week low of $59.48 and a 52-week high of $78.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.55.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. 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 101.84%.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business’s 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the company’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 directly owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.