Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Purchases 9,370 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 59.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,198 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,370 shares during the quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $1,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 3.3% in the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 20.9% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,209 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 31,433 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Residential presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.46.

Equity Residential Stock Up 1.1 %

EQR opened at $75.01 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $70.68 and its 200 day moving average is $72.91. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $59.48 and a fifty-two week high of $78.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.93.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.675 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 99.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Residential news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 4,294 shares of Equity Residential 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,016,622.48. This represents a 23.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.