Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. Sells 32,907 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. reduced its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,376 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 32,907 shares during the period. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd.'s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $7,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in Equity Residential by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 69.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 32.7% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 811 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Equity Residential by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,278 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EQR. StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.36.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Equity Residential stock traded up $0.59 on Thursday, reaching $71.56. 796,003 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,658,069. The firm's 50-day moving average is $70.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.74. The company has a market capitalization of $27.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 52 week low of $58.10 and a 52 week high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 99.26%.

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.