Insider Selling: Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) COO Sells 9,487 Shares of Stock

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Equity Residential Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of EQR traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $71.36. 1,374,746 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,762,525. 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’s 50-day moving average is $71.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.70. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $57.33 and a 12 month high of $78.83. The stock has a market cap of $27.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.93.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company 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 was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 110.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Residential

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Equity Residential by 806.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,259,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $317,136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,234 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 1,459.8% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,949,473 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $145,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,824,494 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 29.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741,840 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $576,737,000 after purchasing an additional 591,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2,193.2% in the 3rd quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 416,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,024,000 after purchasing an additional 398,478 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EQR. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho lowered their price objective 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, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.