Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,608 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $3,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Equity Residential by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,922,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,796,976,000 after purchasing an additional 321,002 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Equity Residential by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,353,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $694,441,000 after buying an additional 132,638 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 29.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,746,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,804,000 after buying an additional 1,741,840 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Equity Residential by 8.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,737,000 after acquiring an additional 591,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Equity Residential by 806.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,259,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $317,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,234 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Price Performance

EQR opened at $71.36 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $70.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.72. Equity Residential has a 12-month low of $57.33 and a 12-month high of $78.83. The firm has a market cap of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on EQR. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.