Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) COO Michael L. Manelis Sells 9,487 Shares

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) 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 value of $683,728.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $71.36 on Friday. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $57.33 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The stock 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. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.70.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 110.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on EQR. Stifel Nicolaus raised Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of 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. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.36.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

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.