Martingale Asset Management L P Sells 8,209 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Martingale Asset Management L P trimmed its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,688 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 8,209 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $3,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Equity Residential by 8.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,737,000 after buying an additional 591,866 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Equity Residential by 39.6% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 16,795 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,245,000 after buying an additional 4,764 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in Equity Residential by 27.5% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 23,528 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,752,000 after buying an additional 5,077 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Equity Residential by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,353,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $694,441,000 after buying an additional 132,638 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on EQR. Mizuho reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.51.

Equity Residential Stock Up 8.3 %

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $66.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $25.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.41 and a 1 year high of $78.84. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.79.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 101.84%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 35,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % 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 valued at $1,424,217. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.