Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC cut its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 156 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EQR. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 208.1% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 610 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EQR. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.46.

Equity Residential Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $71.91 on Friday. Equity Residential has a one year low of $59.48 and a one year high of $78.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.44, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.93. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $70.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.93.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is 99.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm’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 $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of Equity Residential 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by 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.