Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 152,248 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,897,863 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 152,248 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $566,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the third 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 bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.4 %

EQR stock opened at $71.23 on Monday. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $58.81 and a fifty-two week high of $78.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $70.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $27.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,930,106.67. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EQR shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on 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 upgraded Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has an average 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.