Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,201,321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 19,160 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $75,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Equity Residential by 593.9% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 120.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Equity Residential stock opened at $67.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $52.57 and a 12 month high of $69.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.01. The company has a market cap of $25.62 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.87.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $730.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $728.09 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 31.70% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. Research analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 112.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $261,795.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,264.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Mary Kay Haben sold 3,241 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.48, for a total transaction of $212,220.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,720 shares in the company, valued at $636,465.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $261,795.27. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 69,901 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,264.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,625 shares of company stock valued at $913,158. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on Equity Residential from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Equity Residential from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Equity Residential from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.09.

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.