Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Bought by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,708 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 11,034 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $8,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 607.8% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.1 %

EQR stock opened at $71.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $27.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.48 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $70.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.93. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In related news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the company’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 transaction of $683,728.09. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the company’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 $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.