Howland Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Howland Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,779 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EQR. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Equity Residential by 120.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new position in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.2 %

Equity Residential stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,932,729. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $52.57 and a 52-week high of $69.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.87.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $730.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $728.09 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 112.03%.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 6,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $439,141.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,910.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 6,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $439,141.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,910.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $261,795.27. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,901 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,264.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,625 shares of company stock worth $913,158 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James upgraded Equity Residential from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Equity Residential from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Mizuho raised their price target on Equity Residential from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI lowered Equity Residential from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Equity Residential from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.09.

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.