New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Buys 84,208 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 40,099.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,418 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 84,208 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $6,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EQR. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 607.8% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of EQR stock opened at $71.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $59.48 and a 12-month high of $78.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $70.92 and its 200 day moving average is $72.55.

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 paid a $0.6925 dividend. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,930,106.67. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 value of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This 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 valued at $1,424,217 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on EQR. Scotiabank raised their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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. Barclays dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.51.

Equity Residential Company 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.