Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $3.20 Million Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,628 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 393 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Equity Residential were worth $3,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 607.8% during 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 during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value 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. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of EQR opened at $71.04 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.86 and a 200-day moving average of $72.57. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.48 and a 1 year high of $78.84. The company has a market capitalization of $26.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. 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 company also recently declared 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 represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 101.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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 report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.51.

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.