Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Cuts Stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,566 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,473 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $1,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 607.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in Equity Residential in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% during 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 owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EQR. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.51.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of Equity Residential 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 $384,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business’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 $46,262.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Over 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 insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $71.38 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.49. The stock has a market cap of $27.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.6925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 101.84%.

Equity Residential Company 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.