Portfolio Design Labs LLC Acquires 7,927 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 32.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,378 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 7,927 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $2,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EQR. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the third quarter worth $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 69.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 475 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Equity Residential news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on EQR shares. Barclays dropped 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 Equity Residential from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.42.

Equity Residential Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of EQR traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $71.23. 1,901,216 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,749,502. The business's 50-day moving average price is $70.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.73. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $58.81 and a 1 year high of $78.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.19, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

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

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.