Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Cuts Stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lowered its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,572 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 607.8% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of EQR stock opened at $71.31 on Friday. 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 50 day simple moving average of $70.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.55. The company has a market cap of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $59.48 and a 12-month high of $78.84.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho cut their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.51.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.