Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Sold by Synovus Financial Corp

Synovus Financial Corp lowered its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 49.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,707 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 8,488 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in Equity Residential by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,971 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 55.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 22,389 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 7,986 shares during the period. Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,585,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 11,664,576 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $837,050,000 after acquiring an additional 57,660 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth about $13,921,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Equity Residential Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of EQR traded up $1.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $68.16. 2,743,773 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,722,418. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $59.41 and a twelve month high of $78.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.41. The stock has a market cap of $25.88 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is currently 101.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.51.

Insider Activity

In other Equity Residential news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total transaction of $683,728.09. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 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 $384,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.