Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Sells 3,734 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI decreased its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 48.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,960 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,734 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Residential news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $309,425.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. The trade was a 23.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on EQR shares. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.46.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE EQR opened at $73.74 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $70.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.93. 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 market cap of $28.00 billion, a PE ratio of 27.11, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $59.48 and a 12 month high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 99.26%.

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.