National Pension Service Lowers Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

National Pension Service trimmed its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 517,090 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 37,088 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.14% of Equity Residential worth $37,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Equity Residential by 208.1% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 610 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Trading Down 1.3 %

EQR traded down $1.00 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $74.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 769,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,608,089. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $70.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.22, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.93. 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 twelve month low of $59.48 and a twelve month high of $78.83.

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Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 99.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on EQR shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on 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 cut 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI upped 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equity Residential news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company 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.