Insider Selling: Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) CFO Sells $309,425.64 in Stock

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $309,425.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Equity Residential stock opened at $71.36 on Monday. The company has a market cap 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. Equity Residential has a one year low of $57.33 and a one year high of $78.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $70.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.36.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQR. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 607.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the third quarter worth $29,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on EQR shares. Mizuho cut their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Scotiabank decreased their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.36.

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.