Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 80,515 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $5,778,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 806.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,259,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $317,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,234 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741,840 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $576,737,000 after purchasing an additional 591,866 shares during the period. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 2,193.2% in the 3rd quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 416,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,024,000 after purchasing an additional 398,478 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 100.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 691,061 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,590,000 after purchasing an additional 347,085 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQR has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays reduced their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho cut their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.51.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $68.93 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $70.56 and its 200 day moving average is $72.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $26.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $59.48 and a fifty-two week high of $78.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the firm’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 value of $309,425.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by 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.