Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Acquires 12,200 Shares of Equity Residential $EQR

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,200 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $9,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Equity Residential by 0.4% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 48,030 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,242,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its position in Equity Residential by 6.1% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,274 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Equity Residential by 1.1% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Equity Residential by 3.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,489 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

NYSE EQR opened at $63.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.04 and a 200-day moving average of $62.62. Equity Residential has a 52-week low of $58.38 and a 52-week high of $75.86.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $781.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $786.35 million. Equity Residential had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. Equity Residential has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.940-0.980 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.140 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a $0.6925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 94.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $73.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Equity Residential from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, EVP Robert Garechana sold 3,637 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total transaction of $236,877.81. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,740 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,536.20. This trade represents a 16.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine Carraway sold 656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total transaction of $42,725.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,194,419.07. The trade was a 3.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 10,058 shares of company stock valued at $655,078 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Equity Residential Company Profile

Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates rental apartment properties. Headquartered in Chicago, the company focuses on delivering professionally managed, market-rate apartment homes and related services to renters. Its operations cover a range of property types, including high-rise and mid-rise assets, with amenities and on-site management designed to support resident retention and occupancy.

The company’s core activities include property acquisitions, development and redevelopment, leasing, and day-to-day property management.