Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 282,344 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,066,622 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 282,344 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.28% of Equity Residential worth $76,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,922,127 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,796,976,000 after purchasing an additional 321,002 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,353,944 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $694,441,000 after buying an additional 132,638 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,897,863 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $566,749,000 after acquiring an additional 152,248 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 806.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,259,145 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $317,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

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Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE:EQR traded up $0.12 on Friday, hitting $71.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,163,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,682,915. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Equity Residential has a one year low of $59.48 and a one year high of $78.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.6925 dividend. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential's payout ratio is currently 101.84%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the company'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 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 represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on EQR shares. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.