Winebrenner Capital Management LLC Invests $718,000 in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Winebrenner Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $718,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,957 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 1.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 193,013 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,372,000 after buying an additional 3,684 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 5.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 17,060 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Equity Residential by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,980 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,622.48. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $71.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.31, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $58.81 and a fifty-two week high of $78.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.78.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 99.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.42.

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.