Cerity Partners LLC Sells 405 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,628 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 405 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 48.2% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 929 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 4.4% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,858 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 5.2% during the first quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 6,176 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 1.6% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 39.1% during the first quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86,203 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,170,000 after purchasing an additional 24,232 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of EQR opened at $67.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.14 and a 200 day moving average of $69.22. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $59.41 and a twelve month high of $78.83.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $760.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.43 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 33.11% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 24th were given a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 24th. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $84.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.81.

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.