BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Sells 12,404 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lessened its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 3.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 324,313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 12,404 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $20,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 120.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE EQR traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $70.24. 101,701 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,928,710. The business’s 50-day moving average is $67.00 and its 200-day moving average is $63.52. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $52.57 and a twelve month high of $71.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.07, a P/E/G ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.87.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 31.70%. The company had revenue of $730.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $728.09 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 1st. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.03%.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $261,795.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,264.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Equity Residential news, Director Mary Kay Haben sold 3,241 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.48, for a total value of $212,220.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $636,465.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $261,795.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,264.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 13,625 shares of company stock worth $913,158. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EQR shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on Equity Residential from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded Equity Residential from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, May 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.53.

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.