Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) COO Sells $683,728.09 in Stock

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Equity Residential stock opened at $71.36 on Friday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $71.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.70. The company has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $57.33 and a 12-month high of $78.83.

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 paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 110.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vert Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 150,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,782,000 after acquiring an additional 10,472 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $923,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Equity Residential by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 129,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,625,000 after purchasing an additional 14,109 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Equity Residential by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,008,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $298,461,000 after buying an additional 124,795 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on EQR. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of 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 Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective 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, StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.36.

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.