Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Lowers Stock Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 7.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,390 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 921 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,143,388,000. Davis Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $61,160,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 9,325,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $570,333,000 after purchasing an additional 516,941 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 77.5% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,061,862 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $67,014,000 after purchasing an additional 463,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 793.8% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 444,791 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,071,000 after purchasing an additional 395,029 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Equity Residential stock traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.77. 1,415,699 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,487,713. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $52.57 and a 52-week high of $71.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $67.39 and a 200-day moving average of $63.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 1st. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Equity Residential from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Equity Residential from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Equity Residential from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Residential news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 6,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $439,141.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,910.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.