Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 323 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,445 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 323 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Equity Residential were worth $1,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 806.4% in the 3rd 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 worth $317,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,234 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1,459.8% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,949,473 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,824,494 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741,840 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,737,000 after acquiring an additional 591,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 2,193.2% in the 3rd quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 416,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,024,000 after acquiring an additional 398,478 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $71.56 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $27.17 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $58.81 and a twelve month high of $78.83. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.79.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the firm’s 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 $384,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % 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 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Eleven investment 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.46.

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.