Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Bought by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,837,945 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 97,212 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.01% of Equity Residential worth $234,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 593.9% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 120.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Trading Down 0.9 %

EQR opened at $66.10 on Thursday. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $52.57 and a 12 month high of $69.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $62.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.14.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $730.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $728.09 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 31.70%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on EQR shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Equity Residential from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Equity Residential from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “hold” rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Equity Residential from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.04.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $261,795.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,264.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Equity Residential news, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $261,795.27. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,264.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $41,384.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,384,252.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,860 shares of company stock valued at $566,034. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equity Residential Company 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.