Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Acquired by Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.

Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,214 shares during the quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vert Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Equity Residential by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 150,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,782,000 after purchasing an additional 10,472 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 3rd quarter valued at $923,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Equity Residential by 12.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 129,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,625,000 after buying an additional 14,109 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,008,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $298,461,000 after buying an additional 124,795 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Residential news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at $1,930,106.67. The trade was a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 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 value of $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $71.36 on Monday. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $57.33 and a 52-week high of $78.83. The stock has a market cap of $27.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $70.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.72. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 99.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on EQR. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.36.

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.