Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 193,240 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board cut its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,853,450 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 193,240 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 1.28% of Equity Residential worth $348,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Equity Residential by 607.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 109.5% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 208.1% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 610 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.51.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In related news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,016,622.48. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Trading Up 2.3 %

EQR traded up $1.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.08. The stock had a trading volume of 392,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,787,140. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $59.41 and a 1-year high of $78.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $69.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.36.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is presently 101.84%.

About Equity Residential

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.