Toronto Dominion Bank Raises Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing 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 quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $13,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,493,426,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 11,664,576 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $837,050,000 after purchasing an additional 57,660 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,519,627 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $681,594,000 after purchasing an additional 165,683 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,897,863 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $566,749,000 after buying an additional 152,248 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,522,442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $468,050,000 after buying an additional 696,343 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:EQR opened at $71.13 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $68.98 and its 200 day moving average is $70.86. The stock has a market cap of $27.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.89. 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.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $760.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $769.43 million. Equity Residential had a return on equity of 9.27% and a net margin of 34.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. This is a boost from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Equity Residential’s dividend payout ratio is presently 105.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 8th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.69.

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.