LGT Capital Partners LTD. Reduces Stock Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. reduced its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 40.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,660 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 29,930 shares during the quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $3,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EQR. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 806.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,259,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $317,136,000 after buying an additional 3,789,234 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 1,459.8% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,949,473 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824,494 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741,840 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,737,000 after purchasing an additional 591,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 2,193.2% during the 3rd quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 416,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,024,000 after purchasing an additional 398,478 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:EQR opened at $71.97 on Friday. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $59.48 and a 12-month high of $78.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.93.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.46.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at $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 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.