Vinva Investment Management Ltd Sells 44,646 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd cut its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 82.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 44,646 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $678,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% during 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 132,638 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 152,248 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,741,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,789,234 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Equity Residential stock opened at $69.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $59.48 and a 1 year high of $78.84. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.79 and a 200-day moving average of $72.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 99.26%.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EQR. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.51.

Equity Residential 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.