Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Alberta Investment Management Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 103,560 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,600 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $7,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 806.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,259,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $317,136,000 after buying an additional 3,789,234 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 1,459.8% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,949,473 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,158,000 after buying an additional 1,824,494 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $576,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741,840 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $576,737,000 after purchasing an additional 591,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 2,193.2% in the 3rd quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 416,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,024,000 after purchasing an additional 398,478 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Equity Residential stock opened at $71.13 on Thursday. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $58.81 and a fifty-two week high of $78.83. The firm has a market cap of $27.01 billion, a PE ratio of 26.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average is $70.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on EQR shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the 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 $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.