Carmel Capital Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,627 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 1.2% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 31,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,324,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 66.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 11.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 165,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,534,000 after buying an additional 16,713 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth $73,000. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 10.2% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 554,178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,264,000 after buying an additional 51,501 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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 has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.46.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In related news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 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 value of $384,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,622.48. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.4 %

EQR opened at $73.74 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.93. 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 one year low of $59.48 and a one year high of $78.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.93.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.26%.

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.