Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $1.45 Million Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,167 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,421 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $1,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EQR. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 607.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% in the 4th 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.51.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE EQR opened at $69.85 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $70.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $59.48 and a fifty-two week high of $78.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.6925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the company’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 $384,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the company’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 owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.