Baillie Gifford & Co. Sells 4,884 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Baillie Gifford & Co. lowered its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 24.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,831 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,884 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.'s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $1,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,540 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $182,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Equity Residential by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 696,540 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,858,000 after purchasing an additional 17,757 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC grew its stake in Equity Residential by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 32,378 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,323,000 after purchasing an additional 7,927 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth $255,000. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 10,768 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $773,000 after buying an additional 1,214 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of EQR stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,115,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,619,105. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $70.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.76. Equity Residential has a one year low of $58.81 and a one year high of $78.83. The firm has a market cap of $27.17 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.93.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is presently 99.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on EQR shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Eleven research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.42.

Insider Activity

In other Equity Residential news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $309,425.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,622.48. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.