Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Acquires 61,500 Shares of Equity Residential $EQR

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 40.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 215,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,500 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $13,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQR. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 3.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,489 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 13.9% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,836 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 96.1% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 11,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,537 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equity Residential during the second quarter valued at $100,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 170.7% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,646 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 13,018 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, EVP Robert Garechana sold 3,637 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $236,877.81. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,536.20. The trade was a 16.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Catherine Carraway sold 656 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 3.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,058 shares of company stock valued at $655,078. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $65.25 on Tuesday. Equity Residential has a twelve month low of $57.57 and a twelve month high of $71.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.52. The company has a market capitalization of $24.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.09). Equity Residential had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 30.63%.The firm had revenue of $779.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $781.79 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. Equity Residential’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equity Residential has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.140 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.980-1.020 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equity Residential will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a $0.7025 dividend. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. This is an increase from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is presently 112.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $63.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Equity Residential from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $78.00 target price on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.86.

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.