Cascade Financial Partners LLC Invests $208,000 in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Cascade Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,898 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Equity Residential by 806.4% in 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 worth $317,136,000 after buying an additional 3,789,234 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,741,840 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 8.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $576,737,000 after acquiring an additional 591,866 shares in the last quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Equity Residential by 2,193.2% in the third quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 416,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,024,000 after acquiring an additional 398,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 100.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 691,061 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,590,000 after purchasing an additional 347,085 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.51.

Equity Residential Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $68.97 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $26.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $70.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.87. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $59.48 and a 52-week high of $78.84.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.