Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Has $22.35 Million Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 311,344 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 12,191 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.08% of Equity Residential worth $22,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EQR. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,922,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,796,976,000 after acquiring an additional 321,002 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,353,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $694,441,000 after purchasing an additional 132,638 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,897,863 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $566,749,000 after purchasing an additional 152,248 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 29.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $576,804,000 after buying an additional 1,741,840 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 806.4% in the 3rd 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 valued at $317,136,000 after buying an additional 3,789,234 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on EQR. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.51.

Equity Residential Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:EQR opened at $71.31 on Friday. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $59.48 and a 12 month high of $78.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.55.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 101.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equity Residential news, 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 transaction of $384,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of Equity Residential 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.