Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,376 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 32,907 shares during the quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $7,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Equity Residential by 69.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 32.7% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 811 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 6.5% in the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,278 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 3.3% during the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.36.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In related news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at $1,930,106.67. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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. Insiders have sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Down 1.1 %

Equity Residential stock opened at $71.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a one year low of $57.33 and a one year high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.26%.

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.