APG Asset Management N.V. Increases Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 75.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 431,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 184,800 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $29,875,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Keybank National Association OH grew its stake in Equity Residential by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 7,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in Equity Residential by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,827 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 5,604 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $384,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EQR shares. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.51.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $61.68 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. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $59.48 and a fifty-two week high of $78.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $70.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.90. The firm has a market cap of $23.42 billion, a PE ratio of 22.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.49%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.