Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $8.10 Million Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 112,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,651 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $8,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 806.4% in the third 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 worth $317,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,234 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Equity Residential by 1,459.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,824,494 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 29.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,741,840 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Equity Residential by 8.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC boosted its position in Equity Residential by 2,193.2% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE EQR opened at $71.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. Equity Residential has a one year low of $57.33 and a one year high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,930,106.67. The trade was 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 worth $1,424,217 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.36.

About Equity Residential

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.