Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) CFO Robert Garechana Sells 4,294 Shares

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $309,425.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Equity Residential Trading Down 1.1 %

EQR stock opened at $71.36 on Friday. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $57.33 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The company has a market cap of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.25, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.70.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 110.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth $208,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position in Equity Residential by 367.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 126,567 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,082,000 after purchasing an additional 99,514 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. acquired a new stake in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,000. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQR has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.36.

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.