Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Increases Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 696,540 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 17,757 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned 0.18% of Equity Residential worth $49,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,957 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,337,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 106,281 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,827 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 7.3% in the third quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 52,523 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,911,000 after acquiring an additional 3,569 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 9.6% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,239 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vert Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Equity Residential by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 139,773 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,407,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE EQR traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $71.20. The company had a trading volume of 1,850,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,672,124. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $58.81 and a 1-year high of $78.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $70.59 and a 200 day moving average of $72.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Equity Residential's payout ratio is presently 99.26%.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In other news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. The trade was 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 worth $1,424,217 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on EQR. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.42.

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.