Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Purchased by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 17.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,870 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,769 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,922,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,796,976,000 after acquiring an additional 321,002 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,353,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $694,441,000 after acquiring an additional 132,638 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,897,863 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $566,749,000 after acquiring an additional 152,248 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 29.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $576,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 806.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,259,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $317,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,234 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the company’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 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. Insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of EQR opened at $71.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $58.81 and a 52-week high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on EQR shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.42.

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.