Westpac Banking Corp Has $4.08 Million Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Westpac Banking Corp cut its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,916 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 8,838 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $4,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in Equity Residential by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 7,001 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,827 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 5,604 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the business's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

EQR stock traded up $1.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.83. The stock had a trading volume of 744,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,693,320. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.48 and a 52 week high of $78.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.07.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.34%. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's payout ratio is presently 101.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lowered 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. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.51.

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.