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

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 17.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,870 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,769 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQR. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Equity Residential by 806.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,259,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $317,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,234 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 1,459.8% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,949,473 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,824,494 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Equity Residential by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $576,804,000 after buying an additional 1,741,840 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Equity Residential by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $576,737,000 after buying an additional 591,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC raised its stake in Equity Residential by 2,193.2% during the 3rd quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 416,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,024,000 after buying an additional 398,478 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the business’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 transaction of $309,425.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $71.20 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $58.81 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93.

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 given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 99.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EQR. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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 decreased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Eleven equities research 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 an average price target of $78.42.

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.