Amundi Decreases Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Amundi reduced its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 45.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 639,804 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 522,572 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned approximately 0.17% of Equity Residential worth $43,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 591,866 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the 3rd 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 period. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 28.8% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 28,056 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,089,000 after buying an additional 6,280 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 129,125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,615,000 after buying an additional 17,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 337.4% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 343,976 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,612,000 after buying an additional 265,334 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 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 $309,425.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,016,622.48. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Equity Residential stock opened at $68.97 on Thursday. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $59.48 and a 52-week high of $78.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.87. The firm has a market cap of $26.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on EQR shares. Mizuho cut their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.51.

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.