Insider Selling: Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) CFO Sells 4,294 Shares of Stock

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $309,425.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,622.48. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR traded down $0.76 on Friday, hitting $71.36. 1,374,746 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,762,525. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.25, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average is $71.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $57.33 and a 12 month high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 110.66%.

Institutional Trading of Equity Residential

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EQR. Davis R M Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth $205,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 161,777 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,609,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 483,753 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,714,000 after purchasing an additional 263,622 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at about $273,000. Finally, Naviter Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 24,416 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,752,000 after acquiring an additional 2,205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho cut their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.