LGT Capital Partners LTD. Decreases Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. decreased its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 22.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 96,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 27,310 shares during the period. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $5,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 593.9% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new stake in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 229.8% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 207.7% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $41,384.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,384,252.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Equity Residential news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 716 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $41,384.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,949 shares in the company, valued at $1,384,252.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 1,639 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total transaction of $97,405.77. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 31,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,845,479.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,280 shares of company stock worth $192,335 over the last three months. 1.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of EQR opened at $63.11 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.53. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $52.57 and a 1 year high of $69.45. The stock has a market cap of $23.95 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $727.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.07 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 29.07%. Equity Residential’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.675 dividend. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 122.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Raymond James upgraded Equity Residential from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Equity Residential from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.04.

Equity Residential 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.