Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) CAO Sells $46,262.52 in Stock

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Equity Residential Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:EQR traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $71.36. 1,374,746 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,762,525. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $57.33 and a fifty-two week high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued 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 110.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 607.8% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.36.

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.