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

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Equity Residential Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of EQR stock opened at $71.36 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $70.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.72. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $57.33 and a twelve month high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors 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 yield of 3.78%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on EQR shares. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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 report on Wednesday, November 13th. Scotiabank cut their price objective 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. Finally, Mizuho reduced 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.36.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at about $208,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 367.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 126,567 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,082,000 after purchasing an additional 99,514 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

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.