Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 119.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 483,753 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 263,622 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $34,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,922,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,796,976,000 after purchasing an additional 321,002 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,897,863 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $566,749,000 after acquiring an additional 152,248 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 29.0% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,789,234 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the 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 directly owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE EQR opened at $70.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $26.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $59.48 and a fifty-two week high of $78.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $70.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank increased 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. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, 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 research report on Monday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.51.

About Equity Residential

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.