Insider Selling: Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) CFO Sells 6,357 Shares of Stock

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,910.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $68.02. 1,198,195 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,999,684. Equity Residential has a 1 year low of $52.57 and a 1 year high of $69.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.69 and a 200-day moving average of $62.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.85.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 31.70%. The business had revenue of $730.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $728.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Equity Residential from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Monday, April 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Equity Residential from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Mizuho boosted 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. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.47.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 0.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,395,793 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,369,707,000 after purchasing an additional 372,181 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at $2,143,388,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 1.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,267,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,279,095,000 after purchasing an additional 381,236 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 11,598,251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $709,349,000 after purchasing an additional 71,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 9,325,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $570,333,000 after purchasing an additional 516,941 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

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.