AlphaStar Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

AlphaStar Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 32.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,870 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,438 shares during the period. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Equity Residential by 69.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Equity Residential by 32.7% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 811 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 6.5% in the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,278 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 3.3% in the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,930,106.67. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,016,622.48. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $71.36 on Monday. 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 26.24, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.72.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm 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 yield of 3.78%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.36.

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.