Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Has $1.91 Million Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lowered its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 27.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,219 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 11,498 shares during the quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $1,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its position 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Equity Residential by 120.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of EQR opened at $67.49 on Thursday. 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 50 day moving average price of $66.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.87. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $52.57 and a 52 week high of $69.65.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued 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 return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 31.70%. The firm had revenue of $730.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $728.09 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 112.03%.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In related news, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the company’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 value of $261,795.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 69,901 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,264.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the company’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 value of $261,795.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 69,901 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,264.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 6,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $439,141.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,910.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,625 shares of company stock worth $913,158 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EQR. Scotiabank increased their price target on Equity Residential from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Equity Residential from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on Equity Residential from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Equity Residential from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Equity Residential from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.09.

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.