Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Increases Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,842 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $1,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQR. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Equity Residential by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,745,615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,737,000 after purchasing an additional 591,866 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 2,529.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 16.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 129,125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,615,000 after buying an additional 17,948 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 7.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 50,817 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,784,000 after buying an additional 3,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 5.9% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,713 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on EQR. Evercore ISI upped their price objective 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. Mizuho lowered 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. StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Residential 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 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 value of $384,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE EQR opened at $70.08 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $70.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.77. The company has a market capitalization of $26.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.48 and a 52 week high of $78.84.

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.