Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by Vestcor Inc

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc reduced its stake in Equity Residential by 35.8%, selling 41,553 shares and now owning 74,489 shares worth approximately $5.33 million.
• Equity Residential has received mixed ratings from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $78.81.
• The company reported a $0.95 EPS for the recent quarter, exceeding consensus estimates, but its revenue fell short of expectations at $760.81 million.

Vestcor Inc lessened its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 35.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 74,489 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 41,553 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $5,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Equity Residential by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 60,899 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,370,000 after acquiring an additional 3,392 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Equity Residential by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 766,894 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $55,032,000 after acquiring an additional 9,247 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in Equity Residential by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 77,973 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,595,000 after acquiring an additional 1,844 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 165,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth about $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EQR. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $82.25 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Equity Residential from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $84.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.40.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock traded down $0.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $62.75. 3,720,115 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,889,863. The stock's fifty day moving average is $67.70 and its 200 day moving average is $69.11. The stock has a market cap of $23.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $59.41 and a 12 month high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

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

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.