Farther Finance Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 313 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 607.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 109.5% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $384,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,558,634.42. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on EQR shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Scotiabank increased 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 report on Friday, February 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.51.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $70.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $59.48 and a 12 month high of $78.84. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.26%.

About Equity Residential

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.