Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) EVP Alexander Brackenridge Sells 4,027 Shares

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $261,795.27. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 69,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,264.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $64.40. 1,986,628 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,107,598. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $52.57 and a 1 year high of $69.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $62.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.87. The company has a market capitalization of $24.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.84.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 31.70%. The firm had revenue of $730.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $728.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on EQR shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “hold” rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Raymond James raised Equity Residential from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.04.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.3% in the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,704 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 69,333.3% in the 1st quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 4,166 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 4,160 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the 1st quarter worth approximately $350,000. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,886 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.