Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Trims Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lowered its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,853,450 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 193,240 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 1.28% of Equity Residential worth $348,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 2.0% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 25.3% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 4.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 4.0% during 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 last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Price Performance

EQR stock traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $68.16. The company had a trading volume of 2,743,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,722,418. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.41 and a 1 year high of $78.84.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.6925 dividend. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is presently 101.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Ten investment 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 has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.51.

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.