Toronto Dominion Bank Buys 12,654 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 182,560 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 12,654 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Equity Residential were worth $13,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 607.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 361 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 109.5% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 765 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on EQR shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Equity Residential from $82.25 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Equity Residential from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Barclays upped their price target on Equity Residential from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.50.

Equity Residential Trading Up 0.1%

Equity Residential stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.08. 3,122,806 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,734,452. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $59.41 and a 52 week high of $78.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.68.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.02. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.27% and a net margin of 34.76%. The firm had revenue of $760.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $769.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.6925 dividend. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Equity Residential's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Equity Residential's dividend payout ratio is 105.73%.

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.