Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Alberta Investment Management Corp reduced its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,560 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,600 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $7,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 6.5% in the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,278 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 3.3% in the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 20.9% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,209 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,696 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EQR. Barclays decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.42.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE:EQR opened at $71.13 on Thursday. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $58.81 and a 52 week high of $78.83. 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 has a market capitalization of $27.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $70.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.77.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 99.26%.

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.