New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 6,100 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 228,532 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,100 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of Equity Residential worth $16,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EQR. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 11,870 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,769 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Equity Residential by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 53,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,819,000 after buying an additional 2,404 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 35.5% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,961,000 after purchasing an additional 7,369 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 401.4% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 152,248 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 value of $46,262.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $71.56 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $27.17 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $70.44 and a 200 day moving average of $72.81. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $58.81 and a 12-month high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.26%.

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.