Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $16.47 Million Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 35.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 268,608 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 146,921 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $16,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EQR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,395,793 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,369,707,000 after buying an additional 372,181 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Equity Residential by 1.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,457,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $320,386,000 after acquiring an additional 94,511 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Equity Residential by 13.8% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,206,249 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $305,659,000 after purchasing an additional 629,813 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 68.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,416,565 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $259,297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,795,772 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 5.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,136,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $242,876,000 after purchasing an additional 203,470 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:EQR opened at $65.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $62.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.97. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $52.57 and a 52-week high of $69.45.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $730.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $728.09 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 31.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 112.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on EQR. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Monday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “hold” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $50,632.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,933 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,927.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Equity Residential news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total transaction of $50,632.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,927.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $261,795.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 69,901 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,264.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,548 shares of company stock valued at $666,351 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.