Amalgamated Bank Sells 2,137 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Amalgamated Bank cut its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 87,524 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,137 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $5,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EQR. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Equity Residential by 593.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 120.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 488 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of EQR stock opened at $66.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.08. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $52.57 and a 52-week high of $69.45. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $25.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.82.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $730.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $728.09 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 31.70% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a $0.675 dividend. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 112.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total transaction of $261,795.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 69,901 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,264.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Alexander Brackenridge sold 4,027 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $261,795.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,264.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 20,933 shares in the company, 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 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EQR shares. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Equity Residential from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised Equity Residential from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.04.

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.