M&T Bank Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

M&T Bank Corp reduced its holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,336 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 598 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $2,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EQR. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Equity Residential by 593.9% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 120.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, Director Mary Kay Haben sold 3,241 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.48, for a total transaction of $212,220.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $636,465.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Mary Kay Haben sold 3,241 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.48, for a total transaction of $212,220.68. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $636,465.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $50,632.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,927.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,860 shares of company stock worth $566,034 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on EQR shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Raymond James raised Equity Residential from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Equity Residential from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.04.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of EQR opened at $66.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.14. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $52.57 and a fifty-two week high of $69.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.09 billion, a PE ratio of 27.43, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.82.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $730.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $728.09 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 31.70% and a return on equity of 8.18%. Equity Residential’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.03%.

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.