Vestcor Inc Raises Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 116,042 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 3,224 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $8,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,737,000 after buying an additional 591,866 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in Equity Residential by 28.8% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 28,056 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 6,280 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Equity Residential by 16.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 129,125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,615,000 after acquiring an additional 17,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Equity Residential by 337.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 343,976 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,612,000 after acquiring an additional 265,334 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Equity Residential stock opened at $68.97 on Thursday. 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 50-day moving average of $70.64 and a 200-day moving average of $72.87. The firm has a market cap of $26.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $59.48 and a 1-year high of $78.84.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on EQR. Mizuho reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on 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. Truist Financial increased their target price on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays reduced their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.