Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Reduces Stock Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $1,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Price Performance

EQR opened at $71.23 on Monday. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $58.81 and a 12-month high of $78.83. The company has a market cap of $27.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.75.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is 99.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.42.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In related news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the company’s 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 $384,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of Equity Residential 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.