Bank of Nova Scotia Decreases Stock Holdings in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,387 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,475 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $3,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew 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 during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Equity Residential by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 109.5% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 551 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 208.1% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 610 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.5 %

Equity Residential stock opened at $64.62 on Friday. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $59.41 and a 12 month high of $78.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $24.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.6925 dividend. This is a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 101.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This represents a 26.16 % 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.51.

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.