Fmr LLC Sells 39,310 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

FMR LLC trimmed its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,707,184 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 39,310 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned 2.03% of Equity Residential worth $553,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at $2,493,426,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 8.3% during the third 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 buying an additional 591,866 shares in the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth about $32,664,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 100.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 691,061 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,590,000 after acquiring an additional 347,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,011,368 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $144,336,000 after acquiring an additional 345,988 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In related news, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,622.48. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 value of $46,262.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. This 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 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.51.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE EQR traded up $1.79 on Monday, reaching $66.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 271,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,711,747. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.41 and a 52 week high of $78.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $25.22 billion, a PE ratio of 24.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $70.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.62.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.84%.

Equity Residential 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.