State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Lowers Stock Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lowered its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 620,518 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 38,083 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury owned 0.16% of Equity Residential worth $44,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at $2,493,426,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 11,664,576 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $837,050,000 after buying an additional 57,660 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,519,627 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $681,594,000 after buying an additional 165,683 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Equity Residential by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,897,863 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $566,749,000 after acquiring an additional 152,248 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Equity Residential by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,522,442 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $468,050,000 after acquiring an additional 696,343 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.01.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR traded down $0.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $68.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,318,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,694,798. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $59.41 and a twelve month high of $78.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.26. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential's payout ratio is 101.84%.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business'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 $46,262.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.