Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 311,344 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 12,191 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.08% of Equity Residential worth $22,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 8.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 591,866 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 79.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,950 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 3,975 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Equity Residential by 29.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $576,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741,840 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 45.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 564,865 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $42,060,000 after purchasing an additional 175,268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Equity Residential Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of EQR stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,379,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,684,205. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $71.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $59.48 and a 12-month high of $78.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.6925 dividend. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is presently 101.84%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.