Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Acquires 151 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,827 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Equity Residential by 109.5% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE:EQR opened at $71.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $27.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.48 and a 52 week high of $78.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.49.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 101.84%.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at $1,930,106.67. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EQR shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.51.

Equity Residential 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.