Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 393 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas reduced its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 44,628 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 393 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Equity Residential were worth $3,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Equity Residential by 806.4% in 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 buying an additional 3,789,234 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. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $576,737,000 after acquiring an additional 591,866 shares in the last quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2,193.2% during the third quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 416,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,024,000 after purchasing an additional 398,478 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Equity Residential by 100.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 691,061 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,590,000 after purchasing an additional 347,085 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of EQR stock opened at $71.04 on Wednesday. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.48 and a 52 week high of $78.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.57. The firm has a market cap of $26.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.6925 dividend. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In related news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 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 $309,425.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EQR shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. 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 note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.