Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 67,998 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 762,032 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 67,998 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.20% of Equity Residential worth $54,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 7,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its position in Equity Residential by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 5,604 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in Equity Residential by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 31,433 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,256,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.51.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:EQR opened at $71.38 on Friday. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.48 and a 52 week high of $78.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.53. The firm has a market cap of $27.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.84%.

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.