Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) COO Michael L. Manelis Sells 9,487 Shares

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

EQR stock traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.44. The stock had a trading volume of 1,234,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,711,158. The stock has a market cap of $27.11 billion, a PE ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.74. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $57.33 and a 52-week high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EQR. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.36.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in Equity Residential by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 7,001 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 25.3% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Tobam raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 1,927 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

About Equity Residential

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.