Sherman Asset Management Inc. Takes $107,000 Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,505 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $107,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vert Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 150,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,782,000 after acquiring an additional 10,472 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $923,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 129,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,625,000 after acquiring an additional 14,109 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,008,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $298,461,000 after acquiring an additional 124,795 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EQR shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their target price 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. 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.46.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of EQR opened at $74.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $70.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.87. Equity Residential has a one year low of $59.19 and a one year high of $78.83. 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 stock has a market cap of $28.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.93.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business’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 $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 $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.