Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 192 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,068 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 192 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,827 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 62,532 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,487,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 552,780 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,667,000 after purchasing an additional 22,453 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 40,099.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 84,418 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,058,000 after purchasing an additional 84,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,493,426,000. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE:EQR opened at $71.38 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $70.95 and its 200-day moving average is $72.49. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $59.48 and a 1-year high of $78.84. 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 stock has a market cap of $27.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.6925 dividend. 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 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is 101.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQR has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Truist Financial upped 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. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.51.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. 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.