Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 8,662 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its holdings in Equity Residential by 18.3% during the first quarter, now owning 38,725 shares worth approximately $2.77 million.
• Various hedge funds have altered their positions, with Sequoia Financial Advisors increasing their stake in Equity Residential by 6.3% and TCW Group Inc. by 40.4% in the same quarter.
• Equity Residential declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6925 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.4%, although the dividend payout ratio currently stands at 105.73%.

Bank of Nova Scotia cut its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 18.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,725 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 8,662 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $2,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Equity Residential by 6.3% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,246 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 40.4% during the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 83,417 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,971,000 after purchasing an additional 23,997 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $6,170,000 after purchasing an additional 24,232 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Equity Residential by 11.9% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 49,921 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,573,000 after purchasing an additional 5,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Starwood Capital Group Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Starwood Capital Group Management L.L.C. now owns 339,338 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $24,351,000 after purchasing an additional 70,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI raised Equity Residential from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $74.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $80.50 target price on Equity Residential and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equity Residential has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.43.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.0%

Equity Residential stock opened at $63.44 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $59.41 and a 1-year high of $78.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.97. The company has a market cap of $24.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.92.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.99. The company had revenue of $768.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $770.60 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 33.22%. Equity Residential's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th were paid a dividend of $0.6925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 24th. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is currently 105.73%.

Equity Residential Company 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.

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