Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 13,072 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 486,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,072 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.13% of Equity Residential worth $29,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Equity Residential by 593.9% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 120.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.5 %

EQR stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $65.70. 1,427,935 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,720,995. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $63.91 and its 200-day moving average is $61.16. The company has a market cap of $24.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $52.57 and a 12 month high of $69.45.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a net margin of 31.70% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The company had revenue of $730.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $728.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EQR. Evercore ISI lowered Equity Residential from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.22.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In related news, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $261,795.27. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,264.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Equity Residential news, Director Mary Kay Haben sold 3,241 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.48, for a total transaction of $212,220.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,720 shares in the company, valued at $636,465.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $261,795.27. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 69,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,544,264.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.