Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Lowers Holdings in Equity Residential $EQR

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its position in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 47.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 457,219 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 420,170 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $28,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 876.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,500,885 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $291,342,000 after acquiring an additional 4,039,752 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 797.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,085,406 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $134,988,000 after acquiring an additional 1,852,970 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in Equity Residential by 353.5% during the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,002,892 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $129,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561,241 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Equity Residential by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,597,658 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,728,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,354 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Equity Residential by 2,810.2% during the 3rd quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,073,893 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $69,513,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036,992 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Equity Residential

Here are the key news stories impacting Equity Residential this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bloomberg reports AvalonBay (AVB) and Equity Residential are in talks about a potential combination — a deal between two of the largest U.S. apartment REITs would be scale-accretive, could deliver cost synergies and improve portfolio diversification, which investors typically view favorably for long-term cash flow and dividend stability. AvalonBay, Equity Residential reportedly mull merger: Bloomberg Top US apartment owners AvalonBay, EQR to discuss combining
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 operating results show underlying strength: normalized FFO beat estimates, coastal market demand remained strong, occupancy held at ~96.5%, and management is returning capital via buybacks and a dividend increase — supportive for near-term cash generation and shareholder returns. EQR’s Q1 FFO Beats Estimates on Coastal Demand Strength
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore raised its price target to $70 and maintained an Outperform rating, signaling analyst confidence in EQR’s fundamentals and providing upside versus recent levels. This analyst support can help underpin the stock if deal talks stall or take time. Evercore raises PT to $70
• Neutral Sentiment: Stifel slightly trimmed its target from $78.50 to $78.25 but kept a Buy rating — this is effectively a neutral recalibration that still implies meaningful upside from current levels. Stifel adjusts price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Full Q1 earnings call transcript is available for investors who want details on guidance (FY26 EPS range given), market-by-market trends, and capital allocation plans — useful for modeling but not new headline news. EQR Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: On the downside, GAAP EPS missed consensus (quarterly EPS below estimates) and reported revenue came in slightly under expectations — these misses help explain some intraday weakness and add short-term risk if market leadership narrows while a potential merger remains uncertain. Equity Residential Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights

Equity Residential Stock Performance

Shares of Equity Residential stock opened at $65.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.50 billion, a PE ratio of 26.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.53. Equity Residential has a one year low of $57.57 and a one year high of $72.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.18.

Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 30.63% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The firm had revenue of $779.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $781.79 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’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. Research analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Residential Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 a positive change from Equity Residential’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 112.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equity Residential

In other Equity Residential news, 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 value of $42,725.28. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Garechana sold 3,637 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.13, for a total value of $236,877.81. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,536.20. The trade was a 16.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 10,058 shares of company stock worth $655,078 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQR has been the subject of several research reports. Argus set a $70.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $78.50 to $78.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded Equity Residential from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $74.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $78.00 target price on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.76.

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.