Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Acquires 219 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 117,016 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $8,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 7,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Equity Residential by 3.3% during the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co grew its position in Equity Residential by 20.9% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,209 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.46.

Equity Residential Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE EQR opened at $73.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $27.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $59.48 and a twelve month high of $78.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average is $70.71 and its 200 day moving average is $72.93.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 99.26%.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $384,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential 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.