BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Sells 8,415 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp decreased its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,929 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 8,415 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $4,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at $33,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 69.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in Equity Residential by 41.9% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of EQR stock opened at $74.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.56. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $57.33 and a 1 year high of $78.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $28.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.92.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th were issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 24th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 110.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Equity Residential from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $82.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.25.

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.