Bank of Montreal Can Sells 17,920 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Bank of Montreal Can reduced its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 408,754 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 17,920 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.11% of Equity Residential worth $29,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 607.8% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Equity Residential in the third quarter worth $40,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Equity Residential by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 109.5% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Ten 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 currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.51.

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Equity Residential Price Performance

NYSE EQR traded up $0.10 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.02. 851,965 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,715,105. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $59.41 and a 1-year high of $78.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $70.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.57. The company has a market cap of $25.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is 101.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the business'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 value of $384,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.