State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Grows Stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,083 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $11,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at $1,930,106.67. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $71.23 on Tuesday. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $58.81 and a 52-week high of $78.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $70.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.77. The firm has a market cap of $27.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 99.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.42.

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.