Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Cuts Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,572 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQR. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Equity Residential by 806.4% during the third 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 worth $317,136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,234 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $576,804,000 after buying an additional 1,741,840 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $576,737,000 after buying an additional 591,866 shares in the last quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC grew its stake in Equity Residential by 2,193.2% in the 3rd quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 416,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,024,000 after acquiring an additional 398,478 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in Equity Residential by 100.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 691,061 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,590,000 after acquiring an additional 347,085 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,930,106.67. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.4 %

EQR stock opened at $71.31 on Friday. Equity Residential has a one year low of $59.48 and a one year high of $78.84. The firm has a market cap of $27.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.22, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $70.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is 101.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EQR shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank boosted their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.51.

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.