Prudential Financial Inc. Has $76.54 Million Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,066,622 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 282,344 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $76,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Keybank National Association OH raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 7,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in Equity Residential by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 5,604 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 31,433 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,256,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the business’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 value of $309,425.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. 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 owned by insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Up 2.3 %

EQR stock opened at $71.40 on Tuesday. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $59.48 and a 1-year high of $78.84. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.59. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $27.11 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on EQR. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report 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. Barclays reduced their price target on 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, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.