Equity Residential $EQR Holdings Raised by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 7.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,432,253 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 102,638 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $92,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Equity Residential during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 434.7% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 540 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equity Residential by 203.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 780 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the second quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in shares of Equity Residential during the second quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Equity Residential

In related news, EVP Robert Garechana sold 3,637 shares of Equity Residential 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,536.20. This trade represents a 16.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 5,765 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 value of $375,474.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 46,131 shares in the company, valued at $3,004,512.03. This trade represents a 11.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,058 shares of company stock valued at $655,078. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equity Residential Stock Performance

EQR stock opened at $62.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $23.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.53. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $58.38 and a 52 week high of $73.14.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Equity Residential had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The company had revenue of $781.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $786.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Research analysts anticipate that Equity Residential will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.6925 per share. This represents a $2.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is currently 94.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Equity Residential from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $70.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Piper Sandler set a $78.00 target price on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Equity Residential from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.68.

Equity Residential 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.