Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 359,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 33,283 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.09% of Equity Residential worth $25,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,493,426,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 591,866 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth $32,664,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 100.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 691,061 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,590,000 after purchasing an additional 347,085 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,011,368 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $144,336,000 after purchasing an additional 345,988 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.51.

Insider Activity

In other Equity Residential news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 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 $46,262.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equity Residential Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of EQR traded up $1.79 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $66.43. 271,742 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,770,025. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $59.41 and a 52-week high of $78.83. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $70.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.62. The firm has a market cap of $25.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. This is a positive change from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.84%.

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.