Metis Global Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 55,824 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,657 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $4,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 3.3% in the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 20.9% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,209 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 31,433 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,256,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,696 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the company’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 transaction of $46,262.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $74.06 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.87. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $59.19 and a twelve month high of $78.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.12 billion, a PE ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.93.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EQR shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.46.

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.