American Century Companies Inc. Sells 268,203 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,390,725 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 268,203 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.63% of Equity Residential worth $171,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Equity Residential by 607.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Residential news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on EQR shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.51.

Equity Residential Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE EQR opened at $69.85 on Friday. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $59.48 and a fifty-two week high of $78.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.64. The stock has a market cap of $26.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.84%.

About Equity Residential

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.