Rhumbline Advisers Lowers Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 704,909 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,102 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.19% of Equity Residential worth $50,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 7.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,957 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 9.6% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,239 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 233.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,586 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 3,909 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Equity Residential by 1.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 193,013 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,372,000 after acquiring an additional 3,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 5.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 17,060 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 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 transaction of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at $1,930,106.67. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on EQR shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on 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, StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.42.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $71.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,115,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,619,105. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $70.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $58.81 and a 1-year high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

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

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.