Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Lowers Stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. cut its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 268 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 69.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.36.

Equity Residential Stock Up 1.9 %

EQR stock opened at $69.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $71.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.66. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $57.33 and a fifty-two week high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 110.66%.

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.