BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Trims Stock Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S decreased its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 41.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,920 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 5,662 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 607.8% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 109.5% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 208.1% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 610 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.73. 222,528 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,690,036. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $59.41 and a 12 month high of $78.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.23. The company has a market capitalization of $26.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's payout ratio is currently 101.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on EQR shares. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays cut their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.01.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $309,425.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,016,622.48. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.