HGI Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

HGI Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 102,725 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 6,161 shares during the period. Equity Residential accounts for approximately 7.6% of HGI Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. HGI Capital Management LLC's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $7,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 607.8% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 109.5% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 208.1% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 610 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have 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 Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of EQR traded up $0.96 on Wednesday, reaching $69.89. 491,493 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,713,897. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $59.41 and a 12 month high of $78.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $69.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.34.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is currently 101.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on EQR shares. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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 dropped their target price on 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 decreased their price target on 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, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.01.

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.