Alberta Investment Management Corp Sells 34,700 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp reduced its holdings in Equity Residential by 33.5%, owning 68,860 shares valued at approximately $4.9 million after selling 34,700 shares during the first quarter.
• The company's quarterly earnings reported $0.95 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside a revenue of $760.81 million, marking a 4.1% increase year-over-year.
• Equity Residential declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6925 per share, resulting in an annualized payout of $2.77 and a dividend yield of 4.4%.

Alberta Investment Management Corp lessened its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 33.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,860 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 34,700 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $4,929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 51.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 461 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 27.6% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 740 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 765 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EQR. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Equity Residential from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI raised Equity Residential from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Equity Residential from $82.25 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Equity Residential from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.40.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.7%

EQR traded down $0.45 on Friday, hitting $62.75. The company had a trading volume of 3,720,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,075,869. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $59.41 and a 52-week high of $78.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.92.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th were issued a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 24th. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.73%.

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.