Keeley Teton Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Keeley Teton Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,976 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 159 shares during the quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 483,753 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,714,000 after acquiring an additional 263,622 shares during the period. Vert Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Equity Residential by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 150,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,782,000 after buying an additional 10,472 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth $321,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Equity Residential by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 12.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 129,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,625,000 after purchasing an additional 14,109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE EQR opened at $67.13 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $25.49 billion, a PE ratio of 24.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $59.41 and a 52-week high of $78.84. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $69.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.51.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Residential news, 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,016,622.48. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on EQR shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.51.

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.