Clearbridge Investments LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 293,425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 8,671 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.08% of Equity Residential worth $21,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,493,426,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,922,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,796,976,000 after buying an additional 321,002 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,353,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $694,441,000 after acquiring an additional 132,638 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Equity Residential by 2.0% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,210,383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $302,137,000 after acquiring an additional 136,275 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.51.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equity Residential Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Equity Residential stock opened at $71.26 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $27.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $59.48 and a twelve month high of $78.84. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $71.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.38.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is 101.84%.

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.