Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 22,453 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 552,780 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 22,453 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $39,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,493,426,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 321,002 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,353,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $694,441,000 after acquiring an additional 132,638 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,897,863 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $566,749,000 after purchasing an additional 152,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741,840 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE:EQR opened at $71.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $27.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.48 and a 1 year high of $78.84. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.53. 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 Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a 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%.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm’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 value of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the sale, 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 have sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.