Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Trims Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC cut its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,008 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,107 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $2,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EQR. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 607.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 109.5% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 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 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $71.67 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $71.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.37. The company has a market cap of $27.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $59.48 and a 12 month high of $78.84.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of 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. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential 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.