Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC lessened its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,476 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $2,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Seven Post Investment Office LP raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Seven Post Investment Office LP now owns 314,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,537,000 after purchasing an additional 2,202 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 55,308 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,969,000 after buying an additional 2,785 shares in the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 10,091 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 208.1% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 610 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on EQR. Mizuho lowered their price objective 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. Scotiabank lowered 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 research report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.69.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR opened at $68.37 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $72.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.62. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $57.33 and a 12-month high of $78.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $25.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.02, a P/E/G ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.93.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 110.66%.

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.