Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Price Target Raised to $79.00

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) had its price target boosted by Scotiabank from $78.00 to $79.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the real estate investment trust's stock.

EQR has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.42.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.0 %

EQR stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.20. 1,850,656 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,672,124. The firm's 50 day moving average is $70.59 and its 200 day moving average is $72.78. The firm has a market cap of $27.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $58.81 and a twelve month high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. Equity Residential's payout ratio is currently 99.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $309,425.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 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 value of $46,262.52. Following the completion of 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 trade represents a 2.45 % 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 valued at $1,424,217. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in 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 period. 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.