Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Acquired by Naviter Wealth LLC

Naviter Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 24,416 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,205 shares during the quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $1,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Equity Residential by 607.8% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of EQR opened at $71.97 on Friday. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $59.48 and a twelve month high of $78.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.74 and its two-hundred 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. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.26%.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on EQR shares. Mizuho lowered 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.46.

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.