Bank of New York Mellon Corp Grows Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,340,238 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 32,651 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $167,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQR. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Assetmark Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 208.1% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 610 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE EQR opened at $73.69 on Friday. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.02 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $27.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.93.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.26%.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on EQR. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho dropped 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank upped their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.46.

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.