Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 1,475 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund 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.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EQR. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 483,753 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,714,000 after purchasing an additional 263,622 shares during the last quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Equity Residential by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 150,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,782,000 after acquiring an additional 10,472 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth approximately $321,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 12.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 129,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,625,000 after purchasing an additional 14,109 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $64.62 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. Equity Residential has a one year low of $59.41 and a one year high of $78.84. The firm has a market cap of $24.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.85.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In other news, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % 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 valued at $1,424,217. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 price objective on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned 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 $78.51.

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.