Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 3,775 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 272,835 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,775 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.07% of Equity Residential worth $20,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 1.2% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,001,360 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $346,794,000 after purchasing an additional 60,000 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Equity Residential by 244,571.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 17,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 17,120 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Equity Residential by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 47,997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,328,000 after buying an additional 7,549 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at $923,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 1,279.0% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 48,210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,339,000 after acquiring an additional 44,714 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $78.00 to $82.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.25.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE EQR opened at $73.28 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $73.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.94. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $57.33 and a 52 week 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 capitalization of $27.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.92.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.