Insider Selling: Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) EVP Sells $384,800.40 in Stock

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Equity Residential Trading Down 1.1 %

EQR opened at $71.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $57.33 and a 1-year high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of 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. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Eleven 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.36.

Institutional Trading of Equity Residential

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EQR. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in Equity Residential by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 7,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Tobam increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 1,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 69.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.