TCW Group Inc. Purchases 6,397 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

TCW Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,542 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,397 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $4,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Commerce Bank raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 19,299 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 6,657 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Equity Residential by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 67,535 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,130,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Allstate Corp increased its stake in Equity Residential by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 110,726 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,772,000 after purchasing an additional 48,562 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth $2,375,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at about $791,000. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

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

Equity Residential Price Performance

EQR traded up $0.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $65.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,427,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,720,995. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.91 and a 200-day moving average of $61.11. Equity Residential has a one year low of $52.57 and a one year high of $69.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $24.94 billion, a PE ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Equity Residential from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $64.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Raymond James upgraded shares of Equity Residential from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Equity Residential from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.22.

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.