Korea Investment CORP Acquires 18,851 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Korea Investment CORP boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 299,901 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 18,851 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $21,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in Equity Residential in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In related news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 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 value 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 $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Equity Residential stock opened at $71.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.10 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $70.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.49. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.48 and a 1 year high of $78.84. 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 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 issued a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 101.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EQR. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment 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 company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.