Robert Garechana Sells 4,294 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Stock

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $309,425.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,016,622.48. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE EQR opened at $71.36 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.72. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $57.33 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The stock has a market cap 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. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.36.

Institutional Trading of Equity Residential

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position 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 valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Tobam increased its stake in Equity Residential by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 1,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. 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 worth $40,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 69.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

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.