10,864 Shares in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Purchased by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 10,864 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $780,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EQR. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $317,136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,234 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $145,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824,494 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 29.0% during 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. boosted its stake 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 worth $576,737,000 after buying an additional 591,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $31,024,000 after buying 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 0.6 %

Equity Residential stock traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $71.00. The company had a trading volume of 931,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,688,856. The firm has a market cap of $26.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.36. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $57.33 and a 1 year high of $78.83. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.75.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.36.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $309,425.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,622.48. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.