Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Holdings Decreased by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 54,310 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,023 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $3,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter worth $33,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings 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 position in Equity Residential by 69.6% during the third 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 during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on EQR shares. StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.36.

Equity Residential Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of EQR stock opened at $71.36 on Friday. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $57.33 and a 12 month high of $78.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $27.08 billion, a PE ratio of 29.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.02 and a 200-day moving average of $72.70.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 110.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 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 $46,262.52. Following 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 in the last ninety days. 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.