Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Acquired by Convergence Investment Partners LLC

Convergence Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,727 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,448 shares during the quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,278 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its position in Equity Residential by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,209 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in Equity Residential by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,696 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In related news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $309,425.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. This trade represents a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR opened at $71.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.15, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $58.81 and a twelve month high of $78.83. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $70.52 and a 200 day moving average of $72.77.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 99.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQR has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.42.

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.