Baillie Gifford & Co. Reduces Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Baillie Gifford & Co. trimmed its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 24.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,831 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,884 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $1,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,278 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its position in Equity Residential by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,209 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in Equity Residential by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,696 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $71.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.59 and a 200 day moving average of $72.78. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $27.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $58.81 and a 12-month high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.26%.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In related news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,016,622.48. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on EQR. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.42.

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.