Hartford Investment Management Co. Trims Stock Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,002 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 407 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $1,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter worth $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $309,425.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,622.48. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

EQR opened at $71.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $70.72 and its 200-day moving average is $72.74. The stock has a market cap of $27.15 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $58.10 and a twelve month high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders 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 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 99.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.