Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lessened its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,119 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 260 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $2,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 208.1% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 610 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $74.06 on Friday. 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 $28.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.19 and a 1 year high of $78.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.86.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 99.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $309,425.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EQR. Mizuho cut their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.46.

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.